Is Pakistan's more important fight on the streets of Karachi?
Posted By Andrew Swift Thursday, October 21, 2010
Violence has engulfed Karachi since Oct. 16, with close to 90 dead across the city. An Oct. 17 special election to replace assassinated Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) legislator Raza Haider boiled over long-held tensions between the MQM and the Awami National Party (ANP). Haider was shot dead at the Jamia Mosque in Nazimabad, a suburb of Karachi, on Aug. 2.
Street violence is nothing new to Karachi; the army was forced to restore order in the 90's, and clashes have oft-occurred in the last few years. After Haider's death, MQM leaders insinuated that the ANP was responsible, sparking street clashes which left dozens dead. (The MQM and ANP, along with the Pakistan People's Party [PPP], rule Sindh province in a coalition government; on the national level, the PPP and the MQM rule together.) The MQM retained the seat as the ANP boycotted the poll.
While affairs in Pakistan's northwest grab the Western headlines, the street battles in Karachi are more important to the Pakistani state. The MQM-ANP violence is not merely political, but carries ethnic undertones. The MQM is largely composed of muhajirs, Urdu-speakers who fled India during the 1947 partition, while the ANP is backed by Pashtuns. Karachi has long been overwhelmingly muhajir, and politically dominated by the MQM, but Pashtuns -- including Afghan refugees and internally displaced Pakistanis, as well as economic migrants -- have entered the city in increasing numbers over the last three decades. Apparently, familiarity does breed contempt in Pakistan's most important city.
Karachi has been spared the widespread suicide bombings that have hit cities like Peshawar and Lahore, but the MQM has blamed increasing levels of violence on Pashtun migrants, alleging that they've both brought Taliban elements with them and are not doing enough to prevent the "Talibanization" of Karachi. The ANP, not suprisingly, disputes this. (For an example of MQM feelings towards the ANP, read this press release on the recent violence from its head, Altaf Hussain -- the ethnic code isn't very subtle.)
So while the attention paid by the U.S. military, politicians, and media to Pakistan focuses almost solely on the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), it is ethnic conflict, not militant Islam, that is a bigger danger to the stability of the Pakistani state. For now, the killings are alleged to be targeted -- though this round-up from Dawn seems to point to randomized violence as well. Karachi was entirely shut down Wednesday, and Pakistan can ill afford a situation in which its most vital economic hub is cut off.
The Pakistani military seems to have come to the conclusion that if they can keep the Afghan Taliban onsides by neglecting to crack down, they're willing to pay the cost of whatever the Pakistani Taliban -- at the moment, outside their nominal control -- dishes out. But the ethnic conflict exploding on the streets of Karachi this week may turn out to be the far more serious threat.
Wikileaked
Posted By David Kenner Friday, October 22, 2010
The much anticipated Wikileaks document dump of 400,00 classified U.S. military documents, which cover events during the Iraq war from 2004 to 2009, is upon us: The Guardian and the New York Times have both just published their assessments after reviewing the files.
Both newspapers seem to highlight the same broad takeaways from the documents: Iraqi civilian deaths were higher than the Bush administration suggested, the United States largely ignored prisoner abuse conducted by Iraq's security services, and Iran played an extensive role in training and arming the anti-U.S. insurgency -- even raising fears in the military that it may be planning to provide chemical weapons to Shiite insurgents.
One big winner out of the document dump may be Iraq Body Count, an organization whose methods for counting Iraqi civilian casualties in Iraq were consistently criticized by the Bush administration as being unrealistically high.
There's one more issue that, while certainly not as important as other considerations, I'm curious about: After weeks of preparation and hype, why would Wikileaks and major news outlets settle on 5 p.m. on Friday as the time to release these documents? Presumably, the New York Times and the Guardian are savvy enough to know that a Friday afternoon isn't exactly the time to attract the largest possible readership. Just one more sign that, while Wikileaks may aspire to revolutionize journalism, its media strategy leaves something to be desired.
Barack and Michelle's Mumbai darshan plans
23 Oct, 2010, 09.38AM IST,MUMBAI MIRROR
US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle will be extremely busy in Mumbai, upon landing on November 6 for a two day India visit. As the world’s most powerful man and his wife zip around the city visiting the 26/11 memorial on Marine Drive, the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), Mani Bhawan and other locations in south Mumbai, the security obviously will be water-tight .
Adding to the Obamas’ busy schedule is Michelle’s likely visit to Kamathipura, where she will meet commercial sex workers on the invitation of an NGO. The highprofile visit is likely to inconvenience the citizens, as there could be a complete clampdown on traffic on some main roads of south Mumbai and sanitisation of buildings flanking them.
The Obamas will stay at the Taj Mahal Hotel, and his itinerary practically means Marine Drive will be shut for vehicular traffic on the day of the President’s visit, while buildings flanking it will be sanitised with security personnel manning them until Obama has left the place. Same would be the case with Obama’s visit to Mani Bhawan and Michelle going to Kamathipura.
An officer with the security establishment said, “Several other arterial roads in south Mumbai will also see restricted traffic movement, with tight security all around. The Obamas are not expected to schedule any engagements in the night due to security reasons.”
Since Obama is expected to arrive in the afternoon on November 6, and will travel by road to the Taj Mahal Hotel, the entire stretch from airport to the hotel will be under heavy security. The officer said, “There will be no vehicular movement on Western Express Highway at that time. Traffic on roads leading up to the highway will also be stopped. All buildings flanking the entire stretch will be sanitised. However, there is no threat from the snipers as the President will travel in a bullet-proof car with 4.5-inch thick sheets, which are impenetrable for any gun.”
Obama’s personal security staff itself will be huge, and it has already started making its own arrangements in Mumbai. “A team of secret service agents has already arrived, and has surveyed the areas of his stay and the roads and places on his itinerary,” the officer said.
To ensure fool-proof security, the President’s team has booked the entire the Taj Mahal Hotel, including 570 rooms, all banquets and restaurants. Since his security contingent and staff will comprise a huge number, 125 rooms at Taj President have also been booked, apart from 80 to 90 rooms each in Grand Hyatt and The Oberoi hotels. The NCPA, where the President is expected to meet representatives from the business community, has also been entirely booked.
The officer said, “Obama’s contingent is huge. There are two jumbo jets coming along with Air Force One, which will be flanked by security jets. There will be 30 to 40 secret service agents, who will arrive before him. The President’s convoy has 45 cars, including the Lincoln Continental in which the President travels.”
Since Obama will stay in a hotel that is on sea front, elaborate coastal security arrangements have been made by the US Navy in consonance with the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard. “There will be US naval ships, along with Indian vessels , patrolling the sea till about 330-km from the shore. This is to negate the possibility of a missile being fired from a distance,” the officer said.
The President will be accompanied by his chefs, not because he would not like to savour Indian cuisine, but to ensure his food is not spiked.
US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are scheduled to land in Mumbai on November 6.
Google to Combat India Piracy
OCTOBER 20, 2010
By AMOL SHARMA
NEW DELHI—Google Inc. launched a music service in India to help users search for legal online streams and downloads, a move aimed at combating rampant digital piracy that has held back the country's entertainment industry.
The U.S. tech giant partnered with three digital music providers who together have the rights to hundreds of thousands of Indian tracks, from Bollywood hits to Indian classical tunes. Google made the service available Friday and will eventually integrate it into its main search bar, according to people familiar with the matter.
When Web users in India type a song into Google's search bar, the top links in response would be from Google's partners, including India's largest music label, Saregama India Ltd., New York-based media company Saavn, and Web portal In.com. Clicking on a link will launch a pop-up music player where the requested content will be streamed for free, the people said.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Google had plans to launch the service.
Google India did not respond to requests for comment.
Demand for music has long been robust in India, where it is featured heavily in films, weddings and religious functions. Global interest in Indian music has increased in recent years as it has gotten greater exposure through films such as Oscar-winner "Slumdog Millionaire." But piracy, in the form of knock-off CDs and dozens of websites peddling illegal downloads, has stunted the Indian market, analysts say. Total Indian music industry revenue was about $165 million in 2009, a fraction of the $26.4 billion spent on recorded music globally, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
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Screengrab of the Google India music search homepage.
Google hopes the new initiative will help labels fight piracy by directing Internet users to legitimate content downloads at the top of search results, the people familiar with the matter said. Google launched a similar service in the U.S. last fall with MySpace and La La Media Inc.'s Lala.com. (News Corp. owns MySpace and The Wall Street Journal. Apple Inc. acquired Lala.com earlier this year and shut it down.)
Google is also eager to build up broadband usage in India and sees music—which is the subject of a large percentage of searches in the country—as one key to jumpstarting growth, the people familiar with the matter said. The company, which generates revenue through online ads, doesn't intend to earn revenue directly from the Indian music service, at least in the near term, the people said.
Distributing media over the Web poses some challenges in India. There are still only about 81 million Internet users in a nation of 1.2 billion people, though growth has been steep in recent years. And many Web connections are low-bandwidth.
The companies partnering with Google hope the deal will bring an influx of traffic to their websites, which users will be able to click through to from Google's search results, the people familiar with the matter said. They will be able to make money off the service by showing ads and potentially offering paid downloads to users.
Saregama believes partnering with Google will give a big lift to the company's recently-launched Web portal, which gives users access to 94,000 tracks from its catalog of Indian music, a person familiar with the company's thinking said.
Saavn distributes digital music via iTunes and other services and recently developed its own music search portal that covers a catalog of about 250,000 songs and gets 8,000 unique visitors per day. Saavn allows marketers to display banner ads and is considering audio ads between songs as well as video ads.
Vinodh Bhat, co-founder and chief executive of Saavn, declined to comment on whether the firm is partnering with Google but said Saavn sees India as a music market that's poised to boom and attract brands.
"The online ad market in India is small now, but it's going to ramp up considerably as Web usage increases," he said. "Broadband access is already growing at a good clip." Marketers will be much more likely to attach their brands to music services they know are legitimate, Mr. Bhat said.
Some Western media companies hope to sustain the heightened interest in Indian music globally by creating more global hits like "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire. In July, Universal Music partnered with New York-based Desi Hits! Inc. to launch a label that will produce music by Indians and those with South Asian roots for a worldwide audience.
Despite piracy, India's domestic music market is expected to grow to $590 million by 2014, according to PwC, and much of the growth is likely to come from the wireless industry. Sales of ringtones and songs to the nation's 670 million cellphone users already make up 30% of overall music industry sales.
Write to Amol Sharma at amol.sharma@wsj.com
Google says its cars grabbed emails, passwords
Published on Sat, Oct 23, 2010
Google Inc admitted for the first time its 'Street View' cars around the world accidentally collected more personal data than previously disclosed including complete emails and passwords potentially breathing new life into probes in various countries.
The disclosure comes just days after Canada's privacy watchdog said Google had collected complete emails and accused Google of violating the rights of thousands of Canadians.
"If in fact laws were broken...then there's some serious question of culpability and Google may need to face significant fines," said Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington DC-based privacy advocacy group.
Regulators in France, Germany and Spain, among others, have opened investigations into the matter.
A coalition of more than 30 state attorneys general in the United States also have launched a joint probe.
It remains unclear how many people may have been affected by the privacy breach.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who is leading the multi-state investigation, said in a statement on Friday that Google's disclosure about the types of data it collected "validates and heightens our significant concerns," and noted that the investigation is continuing.
Google's Street View cars, which are well known for crisscrossing the globe and taking panoramic pictures of the city's streets, accidentally collected data from unsecured wireless networks used by residents in more than 30 countries, Google disclosed in May.
At the time, Google said the information was typically limited to "fragments" of unencrypted data because the cars were always moving and because the cars' wireless equipment automatically changed channels about five times a second.
A Google spokesperson said the company had not examined the roughly 600 GB of data captured by the cars in any detail to avoid violating privacy.
The latest disclosure comes from information from regulators in various countries, who have examined the data collected by Google.
"It's clear from those inspections that while most of the data is fragmentary, in some instances entire emails and URLs were captured, as well as passwords," Google Vice President of Engineering and Research Alan Eustace said in a post on Google's blog on Friday.
Google also said in the blog post that it hoped to delete the data as soon as possible.
Google had deleted the data in countries where regulators had given it permission to do so, a spokeswoman said. Investigations in six countries including New Zealand and the Netherlands, were closed, the spokeswoman said. There were investigations ongoing in other countries, but Google could not delete the data until the investigations were closed.
Tougher privacy protection
Google appointed Alma Whitten as director of privacy for engineering and product management as part of a campaign to bolster its privacy protections, including adding new internal procedures requiring engineering product managers to maintain a privacy design document that records how user data is handled.
Google also said it was enhancing its privacy training for engineers and other important groups within the company.
"We're acutely aware that we failed badly here," Eustace said in the blog post.
Google's cars collected the WiFi data in more than 30 countries between 2006 and mid-2010 so that Google could amass data on WiFi hotspots that could help provide location-based services a project unrelated to taking photos for Google Maps.
But Google apparently thought it was only collecting a limited type of WiFi data relating to the WiFi network's name and router numbers.
The collection of the additional, so-called payload data was a simple mistake resulting from a piece of computer code that was accidentally included from an experimental project, Google said.
Google has said that its Street View cars no longer collect any type of wireless information.
The admission that emails and other types of data were collected means that the problem is much more serious than Google initially suggested, Rotenberg said.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
10 Power Food Combos; Secret About Long Life; ; Hottest Colors in the World. Burn Your Face Off; UnAdvisory (satire
10 Power Food Combos
by Divya Gugnani
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Divya Gugnani is the CEO and founder of BehindtheBurner.com, an emerging culinary media brand that creates expert-based content about food, wine, mixology, and nutrition.
Research shows certain foods suddenly become healthier when eaten in combination. From spinach and beets to red wine and apples, here are 10 pairings that boost each other’s benefits.
Why does orange juice taste so good with oatmeal? And what is it about olive oil that enhances the flavor of tomatoes? The answers to these questions, it turns out, are buried deep within our instincts. New evidence suggests that certain foods that taste great together also interact with one another in nutritionally positive ways. In other words, two particular foods consumed in combination can actually deliver more benefits than either one would on its own. Epidemiologist David R. Jacobs refers to this phenomenon as “food synergy.” He believes that it might explain why we are inherently crave certain foods together, as well as how they join forces to protect and nourish our bodies. Here are 10 food combos that maximize absorption of the good elements while keeping the bad ones out of your system.
1. Spinach & Beets
Popeye has been selling us on the power of spinach for 80 years, but he should skip the canned variety and, if he really wants to do himself some good, throw in some beets. According to dietitian Joanne Larsen, dark green, leafy vegetables like spinach and kale are best eaten in combination with another veggie high in Vitamin C like beets, because “iron absorption in your intestines is improved by Vitamin C.” Tomatoes and bell peppers are also great sources of the immuno-boosting vitamin, for those who don’t like having pink-stained hands. Try serving Roasted Beet Salad over a bed of baby spinach.
2. Tomatoes & Olive Oil
Greeks consume more of these two ingredients per capita than anyone else, and they have higher life expectancies than Americans. Tomatoes are rich in an antioxidant called lycopene, which has been proven to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. But lycopene is also fat-soluble, which means combining it with a healthy, monounsaturated fat like olive oil helps boost absorption even more. Technique: Sautéed tomatoes, olive oil, salt, and pepper make a great fresh pasta sauce; but you can also whip up a quick Caprese salad by adding some mozzarella and basil to sliced tomatoes drizzled with olive oil.
3. Beef & Carrots
When you’re in the mood for a hearty meal, try this mix that will boost your immune function. The Vitamin A in the carrots is best absorbed when bound to a protein. Plus, the beef delivers an extra dose of zinc, which protects against weakening of the immune system. Chef Gavin Kaysen’s Braised Short Ribs combine both to make a savory supper.
4. Green Tea & Lemon
Green tea is a true liquid miracle worker—it’s packed with antioxidants, revs up metabolism, and keeps you hydrated. When drunk with lemon, its benefits become turbocharged—your body absorbs 13 times as many more antioxidants than when consumed on its own.
5. Garlic & Fish
These two flavors were made for each other, and when combined, the cholesterol-reducing fish oils and heart-healthy garlic can act as an anti-inflammatory agent. Although the possibilities are endless, it’s hard to beat Chef Leah Cohen’s Pan-Seared Trout with Market Vegetables.
6. Red Meats & Rosemary
While red meats shouldn’t generally be seen as health foods, we’re all going to order the steak once in a while. But you can mitigate the damage in a way that only adds to the taste. The antioxidants rosmarinic acid and carnosic acid, both found in rosemary, can soak up and neutralize the meat’s free radicals, which are one of the key causes of signs of aging. Try the Italian favorite Ragu d’Ugnello for a meal that lets you indulge your carnivorous impulses without causing wrinkles.
7. Orange Juice & Oatmeal
This is the real breakfast of champions. The combination of these morning basics has actually been shown to prevent heart attacks and clean arteries twice as effectively as ingesting either one on its own. The organic compounds known as phenols (found in both) stabilize cholesterol levels when consumed together. Tip: Instant oatmeal is often processed with added sugars, salt, and colorings, so go for old-fashioned rolled oats. Homemade Oatmeal Peanut Butter Energizers will get you out of bed.
8. Apples & Red Wine
With all the recent studies proclaiming the health benefits of red wine, you might be tempted to swap your apple a day for a glass of Pinot—now you have an excuse to enjoy both. Apples contain an anti-inflammatory flavonoid called quercetin, while red wine contains the flavonoid catechin. Together, they work to prevent blood clots and improve cardiovascular functioning. Try 5-Star Sangria for a healthy bit of boozing.
9. Blueberries & Grapes
Both of these antioxidant-packed fruits are great for on-the-go snacking or for adding to yogurt. But it’s also been proven that fruits mixed together actually have a greater antioxidant response than one fruit eaten on its own. Trick: Buy blueberries and grapes when they’re in season, freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet, then store them in bags for year-round use. Break out the blender and try them in this Blueberry Grape Smoothie.
10. Nuts & Seeds & Dried Fruit
Trail mix, anyone? Nutritionist Lauren Talbot says that nuts and seeds are high in protein and contain little water (as do dried fruits), and that eating these dense foods together makes for easier digestion. Toss together some Crunchy Trail Mix for a nutritious snack.
But every coin has a flip side. You should also know about the retroactive combinations that can cause health problems. Here are five common combos to avoid.
1. Coffee & Eggs
This deadly combination is found at every diner in America, and yet the potent polyphenols found in coffee actually reduce iron absorption from the eggs and decrease calcium in your bones. Tip: If you can’t get through the morning without a caffeine fix, try switching to chai tea, which contains caffeine but has spices that can improve circulation and mental clarity.
2. Milk & Anything
Since milk is a complete food, it requires digestion in its most concentrated form—by itself. Trick: If you’re craving a glass of milk, drink it with a spoonful of honey since the two can take on antimicrobial properties when consumed together.
3. Meat & Potatoes
Although this classic union makes for a hearty meal, starches are digested in the small intestine while proteins are digested in the stomach, so eating these together can result in digestive problems and a slowed metabolism. Technique: Instead of potatoes, try Creamy Mashed Cauliflower as a healthy alternative.
4. Fruit & Anything
Fruits are great sources of vitamins and antioxidants, but they also contain acids that cause them to ferment in the stomach and slow the digestion of other foods. Tip: Beans aren’t the only “magical” fruit—eat fruits by themselves on an empty stomach to avoid digestion problems and potential gas.
5. Non-Starchy Greens & Dairy
Creamed spinach makes for a filling side. Unfortunately, studies show that the chemicals in non-starchy veggies (spinach, kale, broccoli, etc.) can block the absorption of calcium from the dairy. Instead, try pairing them with lean proteins like fish or chicken. Technique: For a dairy-free fix that combines spinach and seafood, try Chef Dean Fearing’s Barbecued Blue Point Oysters.
Here's the Secret About Long Life: It Doesn't Come in a Pill
By Catherine Mayer Friday, October 22, 2010
Phil Ashley/Getty
Good news travels fast, but dubious news travels faster, especially if it heralds a possible nostrum to vanquish age. An article in the Oct. 21 issue of the British mass-market newspaper, the Daily Mail, suggested that DHEAS, a hormone believed to play a protective role against the biological changes associated with stress, "could be the elixir of life, scientists believe." That angle was swiftly picked up by other media and would appear destined to burnish sales pitches for DHEA and DHEAS supplementation, already on offer as part of some age-management programs.
Professor Sir Michael Marmot, an eminent British expert in epidemiology and public health, who was quoted in the article, uttered a faint "good heavens" on seeing his comments on the newly released findings framed in terms of life expectancy. "We did not link DHEAS to longevity. I only talk about what our research shows. I don't speculate wildly," he says. (More on Time.com: How Not to Get Sick)
What about the Mail's assertion that "research suggests that in future tablets, patches or injections could boost DHEA level"? That, says Marmot, is "100 percent the opposite" of the message he hoped to convey. "The journalist said, 'Would a pill do it?' and I said, 'I don't think that's the way we should be thinking about it.'"
Marmot's reservations about the idea of a pill — the "mechanical" approach ignores the possibility that DHEAS levels do not themselves impact health but are markers of health — are finally flicked at in the 12th paragraph of the 19-paragraph article. The real import of the findings, contained in the newly published report on the fourth wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), is that DHEAS levels appear directly linked to the social and economic position of the study's participants. "Everything we've looked at in [the study] suggests that all the different health measures follow the wealth gradient: the top quintile has the best health, the next quintile worse, the lower your wealth, the worse your health. Then we looked at DHEAS and we found the same gradient," explains Marmot. (More on Time.com: The Hispanic Mortality Paradox: Why Do Latinos Outlive Other Americans?)
The principal investigator of ELSA, he also chaired a review of health inequalities in England that was published in February. Despite the country's comparative affluence, its wealth and health divide is stark, and that indeed feeds differences in life expectancy. People in the poorest English neighborhoods die, on average, seven years before their counterparts in the richest neighborhoods; there's a gulf of 17 years in disability-free life expectancy. The correlation between DHEAS and wealth is potentially extremely significant because "without claiming that DHEAS by itself is the mediator, it does provide a potential handle on the biological pathways by which your social position might influence your health," says Marmot. He hopes the research will help inform efforts to reduce health inequalities. His prescription: good public health policies, not pills.
Hottest Colors in the World. Burn Your Face Off
By evad // 20 October, 2010
Warning! : The colors below may cause sweating, irritation to the eyes & mouth, the forming of sad, scared, awkward looking facial expressions, and the gratuitous exhibition of machismo. Be careful not to touch your eyes or your ...er...more sensitive areas after handling. Now, the hottest colors in the world.
Chili Peppers
The spicy heat of peppers is measured in Scoville Heat Units. This scale measures the amount of Capsaicin the chemical compound that stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin, especially the mucous membranes. In other words it makes that stuff hot.
To give us an idea of the Scoville scale, Pure capsaicin (the active component in peppers) is a 15,000,000 - 16,000,000, you don't want to eat or even get near that. If your using pepper as a weapon or deterrent you'll want at least 5,000,000, which is what is used by law enforcement in pepper spray. On the other side of the scale we have bell peppers at 0 units and Tabasco red pepper sauce with a rating between 2,500 & 5,000 units.
We start of with the hottest peppers in the world and work our way down through some of those with less heat but still packed with hot colors.
Tambako the Jaguar
Naga Jolokia / Bhut Jolokia
Scoville: 855,000 - 1,075,000 This is the hottest chili in the world.
Mamboman1
Red Savina
Scoville: 350,000–580,000 The Red Savina pepper is a cultivar of the habanero chili (Capsicum chinense Jacquin), which has been selectively bred to produce hotter, heavier, and larger fruit.
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Chocolate Habanero
Scoville: 200,000 - 385,000 One of hottest of the large-fruited habanero types, and the favorite pepper in the Caribbean to make barbecue sauces and marinades, with a unique rich flavor unduplicated by any other pepper. Can be dried and smoked like the Chipotle, to produce an exquisite flavored sauce.
Ian Kershaw
Scotch Bonnet
Scoville: 100,000 - 350,000 Scotch bonnet, also known as Meh Boabs Bonnet, Scotty Bons or Bonney peppers, (Latin: Capsicum chinense) is a variety of chili pepper that belongs to the same species as the habanero. A cultivar of the habanero, it is one of the hottest peppers in the world. Found mainly in the Caribbeanislands and also in Guyana and the Maldives Islands, it is named for its resemblance to a Tam o'shanter hat.
Orange Habanero
Scoville: 150,000 - 325,000 The habanero chili (Capsicum chinense) is one of the more intensely spicy species of chili peppers of the Capsicum genus.
Fatali
Scoville: 125,00 - 325,000 The Fatalii is a chili pepper of Capsicum chinense that originates in central and southern Africa. It is described to have a fruity, citrus flavor with a searing heat that is comparable to the standard habanero. The Scoville Food Institute lists the Fatalii as the sixth hottest pepper.
Peach Habanero
Scoville: 100,00 - 325,000 Wrinkled pepper, usually 1-2" long, 1" wide. Seeds are from the beautiful peach colored variety, bearing fruits similar to the orange type but with red-toned skin. The fruits also tend to be a bit larger in size.
Madame Jeanette
Scoville: 100,000 - 300,000 Madame Jeanette (Capsicum chinense) is a chili pepper originally from Suriname. The fruits are shaped like small bell peppers but with Habanero-like heat. The peppers ripen to reddish-yellow but they are larger and more symmetrical than Habaneros. When raw, the taste is of a hot burning, without any sweetness or fruitiness. It may be related to the Suriname Red (as this pepper is also known as 'Suriname Yellow').
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Datlil
Scoville: 100,000 - 300,000 The Datil is an exceptionally hot pepper. Datils are similar in strength to habaneros but have a sweeter, fruitier flavor. Mature peppers are about 3.5 inches long and yellow-orange in color.
Thai Peppers / Bird's Eye Chili
Scoville: 50,000 - 100,000 The bird's eye chili is small but packs quite a lot of heat. At one time it was even listed as the hottest chili in the Guinness Book of World Records but other hotter varieties of chili have since been identified.
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Bolivian Rainbow Chili
Scoville: 50,000 This import from Bolivia makes a lovely landscape plant with its purple leaves and lovely 1/2in. fruits which begin purple, then yellow and finally red.
Cayenne Pepper
Scoville: 30,000 - 50,000 Cayenne is used in cooking spicy dishes, as a powder or in its whole form (such as in Sichuan cuisine) or in a thin, vinegar-based sauce.
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Chinese 5 Color
Scoville: 5,000 - 30,000 Peppers are hot, grow upright, and turn from purple, to cream, to pale yellow, to orange, to red when mature. Plant has green stems with purple markings, green leaves with purple veins, and purple flowers.
Hot Lemon / Lemon Drop
Scoville: 5,000 - 30,000 The Lemon drop is a hot, citrus-flavored pepper which is a popular seasoning pepper in Peru, where it is known as Kellu Uchu. It is also known in the anglophone world as 'Hot lemon' or 'Lemon Drop'. The bright yellow, crinkled, cone-shaped fruits are about 2-1/2" long and 1/2" wide and mature from green to yellow.
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Red Mushroom Pepper
Scoville: 2,500 - 5,000 A very good chili in taste ... variety native to the Caribbean. A bit weaker than the variety 'Cayenne' Capsicum annuum from.
Poblano
Scoville: 500 - 2,500 The poblano is a mild chile pepper originating in the State of Puebla, Mexico. Dried it is called an ancho chile. While poblanos tend to have a mild flavor, occasionally and unpredictably a poblano can have significant heat. Different peppers from the same plant have been reported to vary substantially in heat intensity.
Peperoncini
Scoville: 100 - 500 Peperoncini (or pepperoncini) are a variety of the species Capsicum annuum, like bell peppers and chili peppers. They are also known asTuscan peppers, sweet Italian peppers and golden Greek peppers. While called peperonciniin American English, in Italy these particular kind of peppers are called friggitello (plural friggitelli) or more generally peperone(plural peperoni) like other sweet varieties of peppers, while the termpeperoncini (singular peperoncino) is used for hotter varieties of chili peppers.
Bell Pepper
Scoville: 0 Bell pepper or sweet pepper come in different colors, including red, yellow and orange. The fruit is also frequently consumed in its unripe form, when the fruit is still green. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as "sweet peppers". Peppers are native to Mexico, Central America and northern South America. Pepper seeds were later carried to Spain in 1493 and from there spread to other European, African and Asian countries.
Flames
The color and temperature of a flame are dependent on the type of fuel and amount of soot present in the combustion. A red flame is the coolest part, then as the temperature rises it changes to orange, yellow, and finally to white, being the hottest part. A blue flame will appear if the concentration of oxygen is high enough and creates enough energy to excite and ionize gas molecules in the flame. It can be seen near the base of candles where airborne soot is less concentrated.
Different flame types of a Bunsen burner depend on oxygen supply. On the left a rich fuel with no premixed oxygen produces a yellow sooty diffusion flame; on the right a lean fully oxygen premixed flame produces no soot and the flame color is produced by molecular radicals, especially CH and C2 band emission. The purple color is an artifact of the photographic process.
Flame color depends on several factors, the most important typically being blackbody radiation and spectral band emission, with both spectral line emission and spectral line absorption playing smaller roles. In the most common type of flame, hydrocarbon flames, the most important factor determining color is oxygen supply and the extent of fuel-oxygen "pre-mixture", which determines the rate of combustion and thus the temperature and reaction paths, thereby producing different color hues.
young_einstein
Yellow Flame
In a laboratory under normal gravity conditions and with a closed oxygen valve, a Bunsen burner burns with yellow flame (also called a safety flame) at around 1,000°C. This is due to incandescence of very fine soot particles that are produced in the flame.
MarcelGermain
Blue Flame
ith increasing oxygen supply, less blackbody-radiating soot is produced due to a more complete combustion and the reaction creates enough energy to excite and ionize gas molecules in the flame, leading to a blue appearance. The spectrum of a premixed (complete combustion) butane flame on the right shows that the blue color arises specifically due to emission of excited molecular radicals in the flame, which emit most of their light well below ~565 nanometers in the blue and green regions of the visible spectrum.
Flame temperatures of common items include a blow torch at 1,300°C, a candle at 1,400°C, or a much hotter oxyacetylene combustion at 3,000°C. Cyanogen produces an ever-hotter flame with a temperature of over 4525°C (8180°F) when it burns in oxygen.
nathij
Red & Orange Flames
Generally speaking, the coolest part of a diffusion (incomplete combustion) flame will be red, transitioning to orange, yellow, and white the temperature increases as evidenced by changes in the blackbody radiation spectrum. For a given flame's region, the closer to white on this scale, the hotter that section of the flame is. The transitions are often apparent in TV pictures of fires, in which the color emitted closest to the fuel is white, with an orange section above it, and reddish flames the highest of all. Beyond the red the temperature is too low to sustain combustion, and black soot escapes. A blue-colored flame only emerges when the amount of soot decreases and the blue emissions from excited molecular radicals become dominant, though the blue can often be seen near the base of candles where airborne soot is less concentrated.
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. To do it you need some really high temperatures for the final step in the process, reduction.
Reduction is the final, high-temperature step in smelting. It is here that the oxide becomes the elemental metal. A reducing environment, (often provided by carbon monoxide in an air-starved furnace) pulls the final oxygen atoms from the raw metal. The required temperature varies over a very large range, both in absolute terms, and in terms of the melting point of the base metal.
Some of the higher temperature metals include Tungsten (3000 °C , 5432 °F) & Titanium (1795 °C, 3263 °F) where as iron melts at 1530°C (2786 °F).
Lava
When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at temperatures from 700 °C to 1,200 °C (1,300 °F to 2,200 °F).
The Sun
I'm sure we all know the Sun quite well; its temperature: 5,505 °C (9941 °F) at the surface and ~15,699,727 °C (28,259, 541 °F) at the core.
Header Image by wstryder
Written by evad
www.colourlovers.comDavid Sommers has been loving color as COLOURlovers' blog editor-in-chief for the past two years. When he's not neck deep in a rainbow he's loving other things with The Post Family (http://thepostfamily.com/), a Chicago-based art blog, artist collective & gallery.
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UnAdvisory:The Geneva Convention Biohazard Advisory Re Jewish Food
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Revision as of 17:07, September 7, 2010 by Sockpuppet of an unregistered user
UnAdvisory:The Geneva Convention Biohazard Advisory Re Jewish Food
left
Left - Jewish kosher cuisine. Right - absolutely, categorically, definitely not Jewish kosher cuisine.
Added by RabbiTechno
“Don't go into the kitchen, children! All of the dishes are for the guests, not for you shmendricks”
~ Jewish Mother's Axiom
Introduction
Article 153/3 of the Geneva Convention, dealing with the usage, proliferation and defense against Biohazard grade materials has been conducting ongoing research over the last 17 years to cover the wide issue of the so called "Jewish Cuisine".
This clinical research has been conducted according to the standard clinical trial-and-error methodology, including two test groups and a control group. Some of the experiments include:
Single exposure to a single ingredient of "Jewish Cuisine"
Long term exposure to a single ingredient of "Jewish Cuisine"
Short and long term exposures to mixed ingredients.
The effects researched included both physical and mental changes over a period of time. Within this document we shall try to convey concise recommendation and treatment options for each known item that is included under the "Jewish Cuisine".
Legend
Within this report you'll encounter various warning signs. In this section we will address some of them.
Long term affects are expected. Time will be running out in an accelerated pace for whoever indulges in this item.
Item typically served in extreme temperatures. Either extremely hot or extremely cold. Temperatures might vary between +950 degrees to -10 degrees (Kelvin).
Item must be accompanied with copious amounts of wine in order to drown the aftertaste.
Item might cause severe radiation burns, ridiculous suntan and/or real-estate value drop.
Long term storage is not recommended. Otherwise, use meat cleavers.
Item considered an illegal substance under the Geneva Convention Biohazard weapons grade proliferation chapter.
This item will give you gas. And loads of it.
This item will cause you all sort of nasty side effects.
Irreversible brain death is expected.
Side effects might include irrational violent outbursts.
This shit is just wrong.
Add a photo to this galleryAdd a photo to this gallery
Overview and general recommendation
In general, Jewish cuisine is very much what one might expect from any sweet-toothed, stodge-loving ethno-religious group many members of which spent roughly half of their history in a part of the world where food is characterised by extreme flavour and the other half in one where food is characterised by consisting mostly of fat. Early Jewish life in the Middle East and later history in Northern Europe allowed the Jews to select all the least healthy dishes from both and combine them into a distinct style of their own, creating what is perhaps the most unhealthy style of cooking ever devised.
It is the firm belief of the review panel that Jewish cooking based on the above is to be classified as follows:
Inclusiveness of recognized essential nutrients: 5/5 recognized groups + 2 unrecognized groups (see P'tcha).
Long term accumulating cellular level damage: 4/5 (concentrated mainly in the mouth, liver, lungs and every possible orifice).
Environmental Damage: 5/5 (based or residual gas quota (and overall implication over the "Greenhouse Effect") and expected defecation.
Overall risk assessment - 5/5 EXTREMELY HIGH
Type 1: Grade A Biohazard material - "Appealing" Jewish Food
Article 252/z/3:Chollah (חלה)
These fairly obscene phallic objects represent the best of the Jewish Sabbath table. Goes to show how much of a mench the head of the family is.
Added by Mordillo
Risk classification: negligible
Short term affects: N/A
Long term affects: addiction
Normally consumed: during the Sabbath meal and holiday feasts.
Food group classification: Bread & Pastries
History:
According to legend, the Hebrews were at one time without a legitimate king. An oracle predicted that the next man to enter Jerusalem driving an ox cart would become the ruler - which, it turned out, was a penniless man named Gordianstein who was immediately declared king by the rabbis (rabbis worked far more quickly in those times - nowadays, before getting anything done, they prefer to spend a minimum of at least several months discussing it first). So poverty-stricken was Gordianstein that he had not eaten during his long journey to Jerusalem and so very soon after his coronation when he became aware of the fabulous wealth now at his disposal he decided to bake a loaf of bread. For reasons unknown he took three strands of dough and tied them into an intricate knot. A passing wise man observed this and claimed that the knot was so ingeniously tied that nobody would ever be able to unravel them - wishing to put this to the test, Gordianstein gathered together all of the most intelligent people to be found within his kingdom but, just as the wise man had said, not one of them could figure out how to untie the knot.
This proved to be a problem because now nobody could figure out how the bread was to be eaten - it was far too big to be placed into the mouth, chewed and swallowed whole; so it looked like the king would have to remain hungry while someone cooked something else for him. However, just as they had all given up trying to solve the problem a young man named Alexander entered the palace. He examined the knotted loaf for a few minutes but did not touch it, causing at least one of the older wise men present to make some comments on declining educational standards and how the youth of the day seemed unable to carry out even basic mental exercises without the aid of their fancy newfangled abacuses. Just as it seemed the knot had defeated him too Alexander pulled out his sword and cut the loaf neatly into several slices, allowing Gordianstein to spread them with honey and enjoy his slightly delayed snack.
The bread became known as chollah and to this day Jews around the world bake intricately knotted loaves to remind themselves of this period in their history. The term has also entered the English language as a metaphor for any seemingly-intractable problem that is eventually solved with a single, decisive and often spur of the moment action - "cutting the Gordianstein Chollah."
Risk classification summary: Approach with caution.
Article 254/z/3:Rugelach (רוגלך)
Rugelach - enough calories to kill you and your mother five times over.
Added by RabbiTechno
Risk classification: Elevated
Short term affects: Sugar rush
Long term affects: addiction, sugar poisoning, massive organ failure, obesity.
Normally consumed: during the Sabbath meal, holidays and times of general distress.
Food group classification: Bread & Pastries, lethal desserts.
History
Rugelach is a cake typically eaten at Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year which Jews around the world use as an excuse to eat types of food that cause you to gain a pound in weight with each mouthful (provided the Jew then atones for his/her gluttonous sins by swearing to join a gym, the added weight will be lost at Yom Kippur[1]). Made of a mixture of sugar, flour, sugar, nuts, sugar, cream cheese, sugar, some sort of sugary preserve such as apricot jam and sugar, each piece of rugelach has enough calories to kill you. Only Jews highly experienced in the consumption of dangerously sweet Jewish cakes can eat more than a few crumbs per day without ill effect.
Risk classification Summary: post mitigation plan is necessary.
↑ No Jew has ever kept the promise to join a gym post-Yom Kippur, leading God to say: "Oy vey! 5770 years those ganefs have been saying this, you'd have thought I'd have stopped falling for it already!"
Article 264/z/3 Hamantash (המן־טאַש), sometimes referred to as: The Ears of Haman (אוזני המן)
Risk classification: Snarling
Short term affects: Disappearance of Persian neighbors from the nearby borough.
Long term affects: Ahamadinijadism
Normally consumed: during Purim and election periods in Iran.
Food group classification: Man-made pastries. Literally.
Hammentash. Pastry. Riiiiggghhhhttt
Added by Mordillo
Contrary to common belief Jews are big fans of cannibalism, a practice often considered morally reprehensible in the non-Jewish world. Since the old blood-of-a-Christian-child-in-the-Passover-matzah "scam" was identified by vigilant Christian authorities (which caused a number of niggling problems for Jewish communities around the world) Jews have been satisfying their cannibalistic desires each Purim when they eat the ears of Persian people which they often flavour with poppy seeds.
While believed to be just a symbolic pastry, reminding the Jewish folk of the evils that were carried out by the Evil Persian Haman, historic documentation showS that sometimes after the fall of Sparta, the Jews have reverted to acts of sporadic revenge against innocent Persians. Gangs of vigilante Jews were documented grabbing Persians off the streets. The horribly mutilated bodies were later recovered ear-less.
Pastry you say? Poppy seeds you say? Sweet dessert you say? Human meat we parry. Earwax we declare. Don't let your guard down, Persians, we conclude.
Risk Classification Summary: Otitis to be expected.
Article 258/z/3 Kreplach (Yiddish:קרעפּלעך)
Top: Kreplach made by your mother. Bottom: Kreplach made by your mother-in-law.
Added by RabbiTechno
Risk classification: Variable
Short term affects: Variable - satisfaction to extreme state of dispair over the maker's opinion of you
Long term affects: See above
Normally consumed: In times of poverty
Food group classification: Noodly type things in soup
Small dumplings, often served in soup, very similar to Chinese won-ton dumplings only not usually made with pork/dogs etc. The amount and quality of meat found within each kreplach varies from at least an ounce of minced steak if your mama made them to a tiny, hard lump of gristle if your mother-in-law made them. Always prefer your mother's. Never admit to your mother-in-law that hers taste like a lump of gristle.
Risk classification summary: Investigate contents closely prior to consumption procedure.
Mandelbrodt
No aroma lets you know you're in a Jewish home quite like that of freshly-baked mandelbrodt. Few people realise we have a little-known medieval mathematician to thank for the invention of this popular delicacy.
Added by RabbiTechno
The humble almond has long been considered far more desirable than one might suspect, considering as how it's little more than the inside of a plum stone. However, its sweet, nutty flavour has long made it popular among those with a well-developed sweet tooth, such as most Jews. Indeed, it was so popular among the Jews of medieval Eastern Europe that the ruling classes placed a punitive tax upon anyone considered to look a bit Jewish that attempted to purchase them due to their belief that all Jews were rich and their need to raise funds for popular medieval activities such as war, burning witches and so on. This led to Jews soon finding themselves unable to bake the almond bread that they considered a delicacy.
One such Jew, a mathematician named Moishy Goldberg, decided to put his considerable genius to the task of developing a new way that the bread could be made using just one single almond. First, he ground the nut to powder, added a similar amount of flour and then he added his secret ingredient. From a small bottle, he mixed in a few drops of a formula he had devised himself: .
When baked, the bread began to rise, growing in size - yet, no matter how much the surface area increased, its perimeter never expanded beyond the original diminutive dimensions. Thus, Goldberg was able to bake a loaf of bread with infinite surface area and volume, using just one almond and a spoonful of flour. That one loaf proved to be enough to feed everyone in his shtetl; including "Big" Boykhvetig Brownstein, a noted circus trencherman.
Type 2: Controlled substances with export limitations to the Western Hemisphere
Some traditional Jewish dishes have names that make them sound exotic and tasty, but are actually boring. Examples include slishkes (potato dumplings that taste exactly the same as any other type of dumpling - ie; of nothing and dust), matzoh (basically no more than a giant cream cracker. The box they come in has more flavour), latkes (exactly the same as potato waffles) and tzimmes (chopped carrots - possibly the biggest rip-off of them all). It is believed that lazy Jewish mothers invented these names, designed to make the food sound interesting, in order to keep their "loving matriarch" image while allowing more time to be spent shopping, meeting friends, eating sufganiyot in coffee shops and drinking vodka (which is what my mother does all day).
Feinkochen (Codename unknown)
Sounds exotic, but is actually just an omelette with few terrorist applications other than localised and minor gas attack. However, Shmuely Rosten, a 38-year-old rabbi from Munich, found that the term led him into a very exotic situation during a visit to a London colleague in 1987. Walking through North London, he realised his stomach was rumbling and decided that a plate of feinkochen was the very thing he needed to tide him over until his evening meal. Not knowing the English term, he asked a passer-by in the street where he might be able to sample some English feinkocken. The passer-by informed the rabbi that he knew a place where very feinkochen indeed could be had, and led him down a shadowy dead-end street. It was not until they reached the end of the street, away from the attentions of passing police officers, that Rabbi Rosten discovered the passer-by was a male prostitute and realised events were about to take a distinctly non-kosher turn.
Article 292/z/3 Latkes (Hebrew:לביבה)
This seabird, a victim of the 1992 Bering Straits Latke Disaster, was rescued and nursed back to health by ornithologists.
Added by RabbiTechno
Latkes are pancakes made from grated potato fried in oil, traditionally eaten during Hanukkah. Although superficially similar to a potato waffle, the production of one latke requires more oil than is necessary to complete a thousand-mile journey in a Hummer, most of which is soaked up into the food during the frying process. According to historians, when the Maccabees ignited a latke in the Temple after their defeat of the Seleucid Empire in ancient times, its oil content was so high that it miraculously burned for eight days and nights. A latke dropped overboard from the Israeli gefilte fishing trawler "Yentl Rosenberg" in 1992 caused an oil slick covering some 600 square miles of the Bering Straits and resulted in the deaths of several million seabirds.
Type 3: Controlled proliferated substance - "Less than appealing" Jewish Food
Article 199/z/3 Shmaltz Herring (Hebrew: דג מגעיל Yiddish: עקלדיק פֿיש)
Manage to eat a bowlful of gefilte fish without any ill effects? Had an argument with your stomach and want to teach it a lesson? Attack it with a jar of shmaltz herring to let it know you really mean business.
It remains unexplained how Jewish cuisine - which has given the world such culinary delights as chollah, rugelach and (some) kreplach - can also have been responsible for shmaltz herring which, in a 2004 poll to find the world's most disgusting food, achieved a 99% share of the vote[1]. To make your own shmaltz herring at home, simply fillet a very fat herring and then place into a jar containing a mixture of brown sugar and chicken fat. Leave in the jar for six months, then throw into the trash and find something fit for human consumption instead. Either that or pickle your herring instead and use it make forshmak salad, which has one serious advantage over shmaltz herring - you can eat it without feeling nauseous for a month afterward.
The term shmaltz, technically meaning chicken fat, is used in Yiddish and English to indicate excessive sentimentality. However, when applied to herring, it indicates excessive disgustingness.
↑ 100 people polled. The 1% that did not vote for shmaltz herring reported that he had, on one occasion, been forced to eat feces by bullies while at school, and decided that was even worse - however, he admitted to doing so only after the considering the issue for some hours.
Article 286/z/3 Shakshuka (Hebrew:שקשוקה)
Shakshuka: Israeli hangover remedy (not hangover product, despite appearance).
Added by RabbiTechno
A popular dish in Israel comprising of chopped tomatoes, paprika, tomato puree, oil, eggs and anything else you happen to find in the cupboard, shakshuka is widely rumoured to be a highly-effective cure for hangovers in much the same way that walnuts were once used to treat headaches due to their resemblance to the human brain and liverwort to treat liver conditions due to its visual similarity to that organ (a similarity noted only by those who have never seen a liver. The plant has leaves and is green, for a start. Human livers do not have leaves and are not green - not even George Best's) - an archaic branch of medicine known as "association" which states that any plant resembling a part of the human body will successfully treat any disorder of the body part it resembles.
Since hangovers, resulting from over-consumption of alcohol, affect not one but a multitude of body parts and there is no plant that bears any visual similarity to all of them, medieval Jewish doctors strove to come up with an effective remedy. Eventually, they hit upon the revolutionary idea of formulating an edible substance that, instead, resembled one of the most obvious symptoms and products of a hangover - vomit.
Type 4: Lethal substances banned for usage in 143 states and territories
Article 153/m56/p6 Kenidalach (Yiddish:קניידלעך)
The world's largest kenidalach, weighing 267lb (121kg), was created by a New York delicatessen in 2009. Scientists estimate that consuming it would cause constipation lasting for several million years, which has inspired pharmaceutical companies to begin experiments investigating matzah as a possible antidote to cholent.
Added by RabbiTechno
“Ah, kenidalach - to eat it or to avoid it? Often the subject of long internal debate, I find.”
~ Rabbi Topol, Hebron Institute for Intestinal Studies
Risk Classification: Serious and prolonged, in worst cases permanent
Short-Term Effects: Third-degree burns to mouth and face
Long-Term Effects: Extreme pain, chewed woodwork, dire shortage of available lavatories
Normally Consumed: Surprisingly often, considering the above
Food Group Classification: Reinforced cement cast in large and awkward shapes combined with thermosetting adhesive
While being "only" balls of Matzoh flour, military historians believe
by Divya Gugnani
link
Info
Divya Gugnani is the CEO and founder of BehindtheBurner.com, an emerging culinary media brand that creates expert-based content about food, wine, mixology, and nutrition.
Research shows certain foods suddenly become healthier when eaten in combination. From spinach and beets to red wine and apples, here are 10 pairings that boost each other’s benefits.
Why does orange juice taste so good with oatmeal? And what is it about olive oil that enhances the flavor of tomatoes? The answers to these questions, it turns out, are buried deep within our instincts. New evidence suggests that certain foods that taste great together also interact with one another in nutritionally positive ways. In other words, two particular foods consumed in combination can actually deliver more benefits than either one would on its own. Epidemiologist David R. Jacobs refers to this phenomenon as “food synergy.” He believes that it might explain why we are inherently crave certain foods together, as well as how they join forces to protect and nourish our bodies. Here are 10 food combos that maximize absorption of the good elements while keeping the bad ones out of your system.
1. Spinach & Beets
Popeye has been selling us on the power of spinach for 80 years, but he should skip the canned variety and, if he really wants to do himself some good, throw in some beets. According to dietitian Joanne Larsen, dark green, leafy vegetables like spinach and kale are best eaten in combination with another veggie high in Vitamin C like beets, because “iron absorption in your intestines is improved by Vitamin C.” Tomatoes and bell peppers are also great sources of the immuno-boosting vitamin, for those who don’t like having pink-stained hands. Try serving Roasted Beet Salad over a bed of baby spinach.
2. Tomatoes & Olive Oil
Greeks consume more of these two ingredients per capita than anyone else, and they have higher life expectancies than Americans. Tomatoes are rich in an antioxidant called lycopene, which has been proven to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. But lycopene is also fat-soluble, which means combining it with a healthy, monounsaturated fat like olive oil helps boost absorption even more. Technique: Sautéed tomatoes, olive oil, salt, and pepper make a great fresh pasta sauce; but you can also whip up a quick Caprese salad by adding some mozzarella and basil to sliced tomatoes drizzled with olive oil.
3. Beef & Carrots
When you’re in the mood for a hearty meal, try this mix that will boost your immune function. The Vitamin A in the carrots is best absorbed when bound to a protein. Plus, the beef delivers an extra dose of zinc, which protects against weakening of the immune system. Chef Gavin Kaysen’s Braised Short Ribs combine both to make a savory supper.
4. Green Tea & Lemon
Green tea is a true liquid miracle worker—it’s packed with antioxidants, revs up metabolism, and keeps you hydrated. When drunk with lemon, its benefits become turbocharged—your body absorbs 13 times as many more antioxidants than when consumed on its own.
5. Garlic & Fish
These two flavors were made for each other, and when combined, the cholesterol-reducing fish oils and heart-healthy garlic can act as an anti-inflammatory agent. Although the possibilities are endless, it’s hard to beat Chef Leah Cohen’s Pan-Seared Trout with Market Vegetables.
6. Red Meats & Rosemary
While red meats shouldn’t generally be seen as health foods, we’re all going to order the steak once in a while. But you can mitigate the damage in a way that only adds to the taste. The antioxidants rosmarinic acid and carnosic acid, both found in rosemary, can soak up and neutralize the meat’s free radicals, which are one of the key causes of signs of aging. Try the Italian favorite Ragu d’Ugnello for a meal that lets you indulge your carnivorous impulses without causing wrinkles.
7. Orange Juice & Oatmeal
This is the real breakfast of champions. The combination of these morning basics has actually been shown to prevent heart attacks and clean arteries twice as effectively as ingesting either one on its own. The organic compounds known as phenols (found in both) stabilize cholesterol levels when consumed together. Tip: Instant oatmeal is often processed with added sugars, salt, and colorings, so go for old-fashioned rolled oats. Homemade Oatmeal Peanut Butter Energizers will get you out of bed.
8. Apples & Red Wine
With all the recent studies proclaiming the health benefits of red wine, you might be tempted to swap your apple a day for a glass of Pinot—now you have an excuse to enjoy both. Apples contain an anti-inflammatory flavonoid called quercetin, while red wine contains the flavonoid catechin. Together, they work to prevent blood clots and improve cardiovascular functioning. Try 5-Star Sangria for a healthy bit of boozing.
9. Blueberries & Grapes
Both of these antioxidant-packed fruits are great for on-the-go snacking or for adding to yogurt. But it’s also been proven that fruits mixed together actually have a greater antioxidant response than one fruit eaten on its own. Trick: Buy blueberries and grapes when they’re in season, freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet, then store them in bags for year-round use. Break out the blender and try them in this Blueberry Grape Smoothie.
10. Nuts & Seeds & Dried Fruit
Trail mix, anyone? Nutritionist Lauren Talbot says that nuts and seeds are high in protein and contain little water (as do dried fruits), and that eating these dense foods together makes for easier digestion. Toss together some Crunchy Trail Mix for a nutritious snack.
But every coin has a flip side. You should also know about the retroactive combinations that can cause health problems. Here are five common combos to avoid.
1. Coffee & Eggs
This deadly combination is found at every diner in America, and yet the potent polyphenols found in coffee actually reduce iron absorption from the eggs and decrease calcium in your bones. Tip: If you can’t get through the morning without a caffeine fix, try switching to chai tea, which contains caffeine but has spices that can improve circulation and mental clarity.
2. Milk & Anything
Since milk is a complete food, it requires digestion in its most concentrated form—by itself. Trick: If you’re craving a glass of milk, drink it with a spoonful of honey since the two can take on antimicrobial properties when consumed together.
3. Meat & Potatoes
Although this classic union makes for a hearty meal, starches are digested in the small intestine while proteins are digested in the stomach, so eating these together can result in digestive problems and a slowed metabolism. Technique: Instead of potatoes, try Creamy Mashed Cauliflower as a healthy alternative.
4. Fruit & Anything
Fruits are great sources of vitamins and antioxidants, but they also contain acids that cause them to ferment in the stomach and slow the digestion of other foods. Tip: Beans aren’t the only “magical” fruit—eat fruits by themselves on an empty stomach to avoid digestion problems and potential gas.
5. Non-Starchy Greens & Dairy
Creamed spinach makes for a filling side. Unfortunately, studies show that the chemicals in non-starchy veggies (spinach, kale, broccoli, etc.) can block the absorption of calcium from the dairy. Instead, try pairing them with lean proteins like fish or chicken. Technique: For a dairy-free fix that combines spinach and seafood, try Chef Dean Fearing’s Barbecued Blue Point Oysters.
Here's the Secret About Long Life: It Doesn't Come in a Pill
By Catherine Mayer Friday, October 22, 2010
Phil Ashley/Getty
Good news travels fast, but dubious news travels faster, especially if it heralds a possible nostrum to vanquish age. An article in the Oct. 21 issue of the British mass-market newspaper, the Daily Mail, suggested that DHEAS, a hormone believed to play a protective role against the biological changes associated with stress, "could be the elixir of life, scientists believe." That angle was swiftly picked up by other media and would appear destined to burnish sales pitches for DHEA and DHEAS supplementation, already on offer as part of some age-management programs.
Professor Sir Michael Marmot, an eminent British expert in epidemiology and public health, who was quoted in the article, uttered a faint "good heavens" on seeing his comments on the newly released findings framed in terms of life expectancy. "We did not link DHEAS to longevity. I only talk about what our research shows. I don't speculate wildly," he says. (More on Time.com: How Not to Get Sick)
What about the Mail's assertion that "research suggests that in future tablets, patches or injections could boost DHEA level"? That, says Marmot, is "100 percent the opposite" of the message he hoped to convey. "The journalist said, 'Would a pill do it?' and I said, 'I don't think that's the way we should be thinking about it.'"
Marmot's reservations about the idea of a pill — the "mechanical" approach ignores the possibility that DHEAS levels do not themselves impact health but are markers of health — are finally flicked at in the 12th paragraph of the 19-paragraph article. The real import of the findings, contained in the newly published report on the fourth wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), is that DHEAS levels appear directly linked to the social and economic position of the study's participants. "Everything we've looked at in [the study] suggests that all the different health measures follow the wealth gradient: the top quintile has the best health, the next quintile worse, the lower your wealth, the worse your health. Then we looked at DHEAS and we found the same gradient," explains Marmot. (More on Time.com: The Hispanic Mortality Paradox: Why Do Latinos Outlive Other Americans?)
The principal investigator of ELSA, he also chaired a review of health inequalities in England that was published in February. Despite the country's comparative affluence, its wealth and health divide is stark, and that indeed feeds differences in life expectancy. People in the poorest English neighborhoods die, on average, seven years before their counterparts in the richest neighborhoods; there's a gulf of 17 years in disability-free life expectancy. The correlation between DHEAS and wealth is potentially extremely significant because "without claiming that DHEAS by itself is the mediator, it does provide a potential handle on the biological pathways by which your social position might influence your health," says Marmot. He hopes the research will help inform efforts to reduce health inequalities. His prescription: good public health policies, not pills.
Hottest Colors in the World. Burn Your Face Off
By evad // 20 October, 2010
Warning! : The colors below may cause sweating, irritation to the eyes & mouth, the forming of sad, scared, awkward looking facial expressions, and the gratuitous exhibition of machismo. Be careful not to touch your eyes or your ...er...more sensitive areas after handling. Now, the hottest colors in the world.
Chili Peppers
The spicy heat of peppers is measured in Scoville Heat Units. This scale measures the amount of Capsaicin the chemical compound that stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin, especially the mucous membranes. In other words it makes that stuff hot.
To give us an idea of the Scoville scale, Pure capsaicin (the active component in peppers) is a 15,000,000 - 16,000,000, you don't want to eat or even get near that. If your using pepper as a weapon or deterrent you'll want at least 5,000,000, which is what is used by law enforcement in pepper spray. On the other side of the scale we have bell peppers at 0 units and Tabasco red pepper sauce with a rating between 2,500 & 5,000 units.
We start of with the hottest peppers in the world and work our way down through some of those with less heat but still packed with hot colors.
Tambako the Jaguar
Naga Jolokia / Bhut Jolokia
Scoville: 855,000 - 1,075,000 This is the hottest chili in the world.
Mamboman1
Red Savina
Scoville: 350,000–580,000 The Red Savina pepper is a cultivar of the habanero chili (Capsicum chinense Jacquin), which has been selectively bred to produce hotter, heavier, and larger fruit.
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Chocolate Habanero
Scoville: 200,000 - 385,000 One of hottest of the large-fruited habanero types, and the favorite pepper in the Caribbean to make barbecue sauces and marinades, with a unique rich flavor unduplicated by any other pepper. Can be dried and smoked like the Chipotle, to produce an exquisite flavored sauce.
Ian Kershaw
Scotch Bonnet
Scoville: 100,000 - 350,000 Scotch bonnet, also known as Meh Boabs Bonnet, Scotty Bons or Bonney peppers, (Latin: Capsicum chinense) is a variety of chili pepper that belongs to the same species as the habanero. A cultivar of the habanero, it is one of the hottest peppers in the world. Found mainly in the Caribbeanislands and also in Guyana and the Maldives Islands, it is named for its resemblance to a Tam o'shanter hat.
Orange Habanero
Scoville: 150,000 - 325,000 The habanero chili (Capsicum chinense) is one of the more intensely spicy species of chili peppers of the Capsicum genus.
Fatali
Scoville: 125,00 - 325,000 The Fatalii is a chili pepper of Capsicum chinense that originates in central and southern Africa. It is described to have a fruity, citrus flavor with a searing heat that is comparable to the standard habanero. The Scoville Food Institute lists the Fatalii as the sixth hottest pepper.
Peach Habanero
Scoville: 100,00 - 325,000 Wrinkled pepper, usually 1-2" long, 1" wide. Seeds are from the beautiful peach colored variety, bearing fruits similar to the orange type but with red-toned skin. The fruits also tend to be a bit larger in size.
Madame Jeanette
Scoville: 100,000 - 300,000 Madame Jeanette (Capsicum chinense) is a chili pepper originally from Suriname. The fruits are shaped like small bell peppers but with Habanero-like heat. The peppers ripen to reddish-yellow but they are larger and more symmetrical than Habaneros. When raw, the taste is of a hot burning, without any sweetness or fruitiness. It may be related to the Suriname Red (as this pepper is also known as 'Suriname Yellow').
beautifulcataya
Datlil
Scoville: 100,000 - 300,000 The Datil is an exceptionally hot pepper. Datils are similar in strength to habaneros but have a sweeter, fruitier flavor. Mature peppers are about 3.5 inches long and yellow-orange in color.
Thai Peppers / Bird's Eye Chili
Scoville: 50,000 - 100,000 The bird's eye chili is small but packs quite a lot of heat. At one time it was even listed as the hottest chili in the Guinness Book of World Records but other hotter varieties of chili have since been identified.
TauSo
Bolivian Rainbow Chili
Scoville: 50,000 This import from Bolivia makes a lovely landscape plant with its purple leaves and lovely 1/2in. fruits which begin purple, then yellow and finally red.
Cayenne Pepper
Scoville: 30,000 - 50,000 Cayenne is used in cooking spicy dishes, as a powder or in its whole form (such as in Sichuan cuisine) or in a thin, vinegar-based sauce.
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Chinese 5 Color
Scoville: 5,000 - 30,000 Peppers are hot, grow upright, and turn from purple, to cream, to pale yellow, to orange, to red when mature. Plant has green stems with purple markings, green leaves with purple veins, and purple flowers.
Hot Lemon / Lemon Drop
Scoville: 5,000 - 30,000 The Lemon drop is a hot, citrus-flavored pepper which is a popular seasoning pepper in Peru, where it is known as Kellu Uchu. It is also known in the anglophone world as 'Hot lemon' or 'Lemon Drop'. The bright yellow, crinkled, cone-shaped fruits are about 2-1/2" long and 1/2" wide and mature from green to yellow.
green reflections
Red Mushroom Pepper
Scoville: 2,500 - 5,000 A very good chili in taste ... variety native to the Caribbean. A bit weaker than the variety 'Cayenne' Capsicum annuum from.
Poblano
Scoville: 500 - 2,500 The poblano is a mild chile pepper originating in the State of Puebla, Mexico. Dried it is called an ancho chile. While poblanos tend to have a mild flavor, occasionally and unpredictably a poblano can have significant heat. Different peppers from the same plant have been reported to vary substantially in heat intensity.
Peperoncini
Scoville: 100 - 500 Peperoncini (or pepperoncini) are a variety of the species Capsicum annuum, like bell peppers and chili peppers. They are also known asTuscan peppers, sweet Italian peppers and golden Greek peppers. While called peperonciniin American English, in Italy these particular kind of peppers are called friggitello (plural friggitelli) or more generally peperone(plural peperoni) like other sweet varieties of peppers, while the termpeperoncini (singular peperoncino) is used for hotter varieties of chili peppers.
Bell Pepper
Scoville: 0 Bell pepper or sweet pepper come in different colors, including red, yellow and orange. The fruit is also frequently consumed in its unripe form, when the fruit is still green. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as "sweet peppers". Peppers are native to Mexico, Central America and northern South America. Pepper seeds were later carried to Spain in 1493 and from there spread to other European, African and Asian countries.
Flames
The color and temperature of a flame are dependent on the type of fuel and amount of soot present in the combustion. A red flame is the coolest part, then as the temperature rises it changes to orange, yellow, and finally to white, being the hottest part. A blue flame will appear if the concentration of oxygen is high enough and creates enough energy to excite and ionize gas molecules in the flame. It can be seen near the base of candles where airborne soot is less concentrated.
Different flame types of a Bunsen burner depend on oxygen supply. On the left a rich fuel with no premixed oxygen produces a yellow sooty diffusion flame; on the right a lean fully oxygen premixed flame produces no soot and the flame color is produced by molecular radicals, especially CH and C2 band emission. The purple color is an artifact of the photographic process.
Flame color depends on several factors, the most important typically being blackbody radiation and spectral band emission, with both spectral line emission and spectral line absorption playing smaller roles. In the most common type of flame, hydrocarbon flames, the most important factor determining color is oxygen supply and the extent of fuel-oxygen "pre-mixture", which determines the rate of combustion and thus the temperature and reaction paths, thereby producing different color hues.
young_einstein
Yellow Flame
In a laboratory under normal gravity conditions and with a closed oxygen valve, a Bunsen burner burns with yellow flame (also called a safety flame) at around 1,000°C. This is due to incandescence of very fine soot particles that are produced in the flame.
MarcelGermain
Blue Flame
ith increasing oxygen supply, less blackbody-radiating soot is produced due to a more complete combustion and the reaction creates enough energy to excite and ionize gas molecules in the flame, leading to a blue appearance. The spectrum of a premixed (complete combustion) butane flame on the right shows that the blue color arises specifically due to emission of excited molecular radicals in the flame, which emit most of their light well below ~565 nanometers in the blue and green regions of the visible spectrum.
Flame temperatures of common items include a blow torch at 1,300°C, a candle at 1,400°C, or a much hotter oxyacetylene combustion at 3,000°C. Cyanogen produces an ever-hotter flame with a temperature of over 4525°C (8180°F) when it burns in oxygen.
nathij
Red & Orange Flames
Generally speaking, the coolest part of a diffusion (incomplete combustion) flame will be red, transitioning to orange, yellow, and white the temperature increases as evidenced by changes in the blackbody radiation spectrum. For a given flame's region, the closer to white on this scale, the hotter that section of the flame is. The transitions are often apparent in TV pictures of fires, in which the color emitted closest to the fuel is white, with an orange section above it, and reddish flames the highest of all. Beyond the red the temperature is too low to sustain combustion, and black soot escapes. A blue-colored flame only emerges when the amount of soot decreases and the blue emissions from excited molecular radicals become dominant, though the blue can often be seen near the base of candles where airborne soot is less concentrated.
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. To do it you need some really high temperatures for the final step in the process, reduction.
Reduction is the final, high-temperature step in smelting. It is here that the oxide becomes the elemental metal. A reducing environment, (often provided by carbon monoxide in an air-starved furnace) pulls the final oxygen atoms from the raw metal. The required temperature varies over a very large range, both in absolute terms, and in terms of the melting point of the base metal.
Some of the higher temperature metals include Tungsten (3000 °C , 5432 °F) & Titanium (1795 °C, 3263 °F) where as iron melts at 1530°C (2786 °F).
Lava
When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at temperatures from 700 °C to 1,200 °C (1,300 °F to 2,200 °F).
The Sun
I'm sure we all know the Sun quite well; its temperature: 5,505 °C (9941 °F) at the surface and ~15,699,727 °C (28,259, 541 °F) at the core.
Header Image by wstryder
Written by evad
www.colourlovers.comDavid Sommers has been loving color as COLOURlovers' blog editor-in-chief for the past two years. When he's not neck deep in a rainbow he's loving other things with The Post Family (http://thepostfamily.com/), a Chicago-based art blog, artist collective & gallery.
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UnAdvisory:The Geneva Convention Biohazard Advisory Re Jewish Food
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Revision as of 17:07, September 7, 2010 by Sockpuppet of an unregistered user
UnAdvisory:The Geneva Convention Biohazard Advisory Re Jewish Food
left
Left - Jewish kosher cuisine. Right - absolutely, categorically, definitely not Jewish kosher cuisine.
Added by RabbiTechno
“Don't go into the kitchen, children! All of the dishes are for the guests, not for you shmendricks”
~ Jewish Mother's Axiom
Introduction
Article 153/3 of the Geneva Convention, dealing with the usage, proliferation and defense against Biohazard grade materials has been conducting ongoing research over the last 17 years to cover the wide issue of the so called "Jewish Cuisine".
This clinical research has been conducted according to the standard clinical trial-and-error methodology, including two test groups and a control group. Some of the experiments include:
Single exposure to a single ingredient of "Jewish Cuisine"
Long term exposure to a single ingredient of "Jewish Cuisine"
Short and long term exposures to mixed ingredients.
The effects researched included both physical and mental changes over a period of time. Within this document we shall try to convey concise recommendation and treatment options for each known item that is included under the "Jewish Cuisine".
Legend
Within this report you'll encounter various warning signs. In this section we will address some of them.
Long term affects are expected. Time will be running out in an accelerated pace for whoever indulges in this item.
Item typically served in extreme temperatures. Either extremely hot or extremely cold. Temperatures might vary between +950 degrees to -10 degrees (Kelvin).
Item must be accompanied with copious amounts of wine in order to drown the aftertaste.
Item might cause severe radiation burns, ridiculous suntan and/or real-estate value drop.
Long term storage is not recommended. Otherwise, use meat cleavers.
Item considered an illegal substance under the Geneva Convention Biohazard weapons grade proliferation chapter.
This item will give you gas. And loads of it.
This item will cause you all sort of nasty side effects.
Irreversible brain death is expected.
Side effects might include irrational violent outbursts.
This shit is just wrong.
Add a photo to this galleryAdd a photo to this gallery
Overview and general recommendation
In general, Jewish cuisine is very much what one might expect from any sweet-toothed, stodge-loving ethno-religious group many members of which spent roughly half of their history in a part of the world where food is characterised by extreme flavour and the other half in one where food is characterised by consisting mostly of fat. Early Jewish life in the Middle East and later history in Northern Europe allowed the Jews to select all the least healthy dishes from both and combine them into a distinct style of their own, creating what is perhaps the most unhealthy style of cooking ever devised.
It is the firm belief of the review panel that Jewish cooking based on the above is to be classified as follows:
Inclusiveness of recognized essential nutrients: 5/5 recognized groups + 2 unrecognized groups (see P'tcha).
Long term accumulating cellular level damage: 4/5 (concentrated mainly in the mouth, liver, lungs and every possible orifice).
Environmental Damage: 5/5 (based or residual gas quota (and overall implication over the "Greenhouse Effect") and expected defecation.
Overall risk assessment - 5/5 EXTREMELY HIGH
Type 1: Grade A Biohazard material - "Appealing" Jewish Food
Article 252/z/3:Chollah (חלה)
These fairly obscene phallic objects represent the best of the Jewish Sabbath table. Goes to show how much of a mench the head of the family is.
Added by Mordillo
Risk classification: negligible
Short term affects: N/A
Long term affects: addiction
Normally consumed: during the Sabbath meal and holiday feasts.
Food group classification: Bread & Pastries
History:
According to legend, the Hebrews were at one time without a legitimate king. An oracle predicted that the next man to enter Jerusalem driving an ox cart would become the ruler - which, it turned out, was a penniless man named Gordianstein who was immediately declared king by the rabbis (rabbis worked far more quickly in those times - nowadays, before getting anything done, they prefer to spend a minimum of at least several months discussing it first). So poverty-stricken was Gordianstein that he had not eaten during his long journey to Jerusalem and so very soon after his coronation when he became aware of the fabulous wealth now at his disposal he decided to bake a loaf of bread. For reasons unknown he took three strands of dough and tied them into an intricate knot. A passing wise man observed this and claimed that the knot was so ingeniously tied that nobody would ever be able to unravel them - wishing to put this to the test, Gordianstein gathered together all of the most intelligent people to be found within his kingdom but, just as the wise man had said, not one of them could figure out how to untie the knot.
This proved to be a problem because now nobody could figure out how the bread was to be eaten - it was far too big to be placed into the mouth, chewed and swallowed whole; so it looked like the king would have to remain hungry while someone cooked something else for him. However, just as they had all given up trying to solve the problem a young man named Alexander entered the palace. He examined the knotted loaf for a few minutes but did not touch it, causing at least one of the older wise men present to make some comments on declining educational standards and how the youth of the day seemed unable to carry out even basic mental exercises without the aid of their fancy newfangled abacuses. Just as it seemed the knot had defeated him too Alexander pulled out his sword and cut the loaf neatly into several slices, allowing Gordianstein to spread them with honey and enjoy his slightly delayed snack.
The bread became known as chollah and to this day Jews around the world bake intricately knotted loaves to remind themselves of this period in their history. The term has also entered the English language as a metaphor for any seemingly-intractable problem that is eventually solved with a single, decisive and often spur of the moment action - "cutting the Gordianstein Chollah."
Risk classification summary: Approach with caution.
Article 254/z/3:Rugelach (רוגלך)
Rugelach - enough calories to kill you and your mother five times over.
Added by RabbiTechno
Risk classification: Elevated
Short term affects: Sugar rush
Long term affects: addiction, sugar poisoning, massive organ failure, obesity.
Normally consumed: during the Sabbath meal, holidays and times of general distress.
Food group classification: Bread & Pastries, lethal desserts.
History
Rugelach is a cake typically eaten at Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year which Jews around the world use as an excuse to eat types of food that cause you to gain a pound in weight with each mouthful (provided the Jew then atones for his/her gluttonous sins by swearing to join a gym, the added weight will be lost at Yom Kippur[1]). Made of a mixture of sugar, flour, sugar, nuts, sugar, cream cheese, sugar, some sort of sugary preserve such as apricot jam and sugar, each piece of rugelach has enough calories to kill you. Only Jews highly experienced in the consumption of dangerously sweet Jewish cakes can eat more than a few crumbs per day without ill effect.
Risk classification Summary: post mitigation plan is necessary.
↑ No Jew has ever kept the promise to join a gym post-Yom Kippur, leading God to say: "Oy vey! 5770 years those ganefs have been saying this, you'd have thought I'd have stopped falling for it already!"
Article 264/z/3 Hamantash (המן־טאַש), sometimes referred to as: The Ears of Haman (אוזני המן)
Risk classification: Snarling
Short term affects: Disappearance of Persian neighbors from the nearby borough.
Long term affects: Ahamadinijadism
Normally consumed: during Purim and election periods in Iran.
Food group classification: Man-made pastries. Literally.
Hammentash. Pastry. Riiiiggghhhhttt
Added by Mordillo
Contrary to common belief Jews are big fans of cannibalism, a practice often considered morally reprehensible in the non-Jewish world. Since the old blood-of-a-Christian-child-in-the-Passover-matzah "scam" was identified by vigilant Christian authorities (which caused a number of niggling problems for Jewish communities around the world) Jews have been satisfying their cannibalistic desires each Purim when they eat the ears of Persian people which they often flavour with poppy seeds.
While believed to be just a symbolic pastry, reminding the Jewish folk of the evils that were carried out by the Evil Persian Haman, historic documentation showS that sometimes after the fall of Sparta, the Jews have reverted to acts of sporadic revenge against innocent Persians. Gangs of vigilante Jews were documented grabbing Persians off the streets. The horribly mutilated bodies were later recovered ear-less.
Pastry you say? Poppy seeds you say? Sweet dessert you say? Human meat we parry. Earwax we declare. Don't let your guard down, Persians, we conclude.
Risk Classification Summary: Otitis to be expected.
Article 258/z/3 Kreplach (Yiddish:קרעפּלעך)
Top: Kreplach made by your mother. Bottom: Kreplach made by your mother-in-law.
Added by RabbiTechno
Risk classification: Variable
Short term affects: Variable - satisfaction to extreme state of dispair over the maker's opinion of you
Long term affects: See above
Normally consumed: In times of poverty
Food group classification: Noodly type things in soup
Small dumplings, often served in soup, very similar to Chinese won-ton dumplings only not usually made with pork/dogs etc. The amount and quality of meat found within each kreplach varies from at least an ounce of minced steak if your mama made them to a tiny, hard lump of gristle if your mother-in-law made them. Always prefer your mother's. Never admit to your mother-in-law that hers taste like a lump of gristle.
Risk classification summary: Investigate contents closely prior to consumption procedure.
Mandelbrodt
No aroma lets you know you're in a Jewish home quite like that of freshly-baked mandelbrodt. Few people realise we have a little-known medieval mathematician to thank for the invention of this popular delicacy.
Added by RabbiTechno
The humble almond has long been considered far more desirable than one might suspect, considering as how it's little more than the inside of a plum stone. However, its sweet, nutty flavour has long made it popular among those with a well-developed sweet tooth, such as most Jews. Indeed, it was so popular among the Jews of medieval Eastern Europe that the ruling classes placed a punitive tax upon anyone considered to look a bit Jewish that attempted to purchase them due to their belief that all Jews were rich and their need to raise funds for popular medieval activities such as war, burning witches and so on. This led to Jews soon finding themselves unable to bake the almond bread that they considered a delicacy.
One such Jew, a mathematician named Moishy Goldberg, decided to put his considerable genius to the task of developing a new way that the bread could be made using just one single almond. First, he ground the nut to powder, added a similar amount of flour and then he added his secret ingredient. From a small bottle, he mixed in a few drops of a formula he had devised himself: .
When baked, the bread began to rise, growing in size - yet, no matter how much the surface area increased, its perimeter never expanded beyond the original diminutive dimensions. Thus, Goldberg was able to bake a loaf of bread with infinite surface area and volume, using just one almond and a spoonful of flour. That one loaf proved to be enough to feed everyone in his shtetl; including "Big" Boykhvetig Brownstein, a noted circus trencherman.
Type 2: Controlled substances with export limitations to the Western Hemisphere
Some traditional Jewish dishes have names that make them sound exotic and tasty, but are actually boring. Examples include slishkes (potato dumplings that taste exactly the same as any other type of dumpling - ie; of nothing and dust), matzoh (basically no more than a giant cream cracker. The box they come in has more flavour), latkes (exactly the same as potato waffles) and tzimmes (chopped carrots - possibly the biggest rip-off of them all). It is believed that lazy Jewish mothers invented these names, designed to make the food sound interesting, in order to keep their "loving matriarch" image while allowing more time to be spent shopping, meeting friends, eating sufganiyot in coffee shops and drinking vodka (which is what my mother does all day).
Feinkochen (Codename unknown)
Sounds exotic, but is actually just an omelette with few terrorist applications other than localised and minor gas attack. However, Shmuely Rosten, a 38-year-old rabbi from Munich, found that the term led him into a very exotic situation during a visit to a London colleague in 1987. Walking through North London, he realised his stomach was rumbling and decided that a plate of feinkochen was the very thing he needed to tide him over until his evening meal. Not knowing the English term, he asked a passer-by in the street where he might be able to sample some English feinkocken. The passer-by informed the rabbi that he knew a place where very feinkochen indeed could be had, and led him down a shadowy dead-end street. It was not until they reached the end of the street, away from the attentions of passing police officers, that Rabbi Rosten discovered the passer-by was a male prostitute and realised events were about to take a distinctly non-kosher turn.
Article 292/z/3 Latkes (Hebrew:לביבה)
This seabird, a victim of the 1992 Bering Straits Latke Disaster, was rescued and nursed back to health by ornithologists.
Added by RabbiTechno
Latkes are pancakes made from grated potato fried in oil, traditionally eaten during Hanukkah. Although superficially similar to a potato waffle, the production of one latke requires more oil than is necessary to complete a thousand-mile journey in a Hummer, most of which is soaked up into the food during the frying process. According to historians, when the Maccabees ignited a latke in the Temple after their defeat of the Seleucid Empire in ancient times, its oil content was so high that it miraculously burned for eight days and nights. A latke dropped overboard from the Israeli gefilte fishing trawler "Yentl Rosenberg" in 1992 caused an oil slick covering some 600 square miles of the Bering Straits and resulted in the deaths of several million seabirds.
Type 3: Controlled proliferated substance - "Less than appealing" Jewish Food
Article 199/z/3 Shmaltz Herring (Hebrew: דג מגעיל Yiddish: עקלדיק פֿיש)
Manage to eat a bowlful of gefilte fish without any ill effects? Had an argument with your stomach and want to teach it a lesson? Attack it with a jar of shmaltz herring to let it know you really mean business.
It remains unexplained how Jewish cuisine - which has given the world such culinary delights as chollah, rugelach and (some) kreplach - can also have been responsible for shmaltz herring which, in a 2004 poll to find the world's most disgusting food, achieved a 99% share of the vote[1]. To make your own shmaltz herring at home, simply fillet a very fat herring and then place into a jar containing a mixture of brown sugar and chicken fat. Leave in the jar for six months, then throw into the trash and find something fit for human consumption instead. Either that or pickle your herring instead and use it make forshmak salad, which has one serious advantage over shmaltz herring - you can eat it without feeling nauseous for a month afterward.
The term shmaltz, technically meaning chicken fat, is used in Yiddish and English to indicate excessive sentimentality. However, when applied to herring, it indicates excessive disgustingness.
↑ 100 people polled. The 1% that did not vote for shmaltz herring reported that he had, on one occasion, been forced to eat feces by bullies while at school, and decided that was even worse - however, he admitted to doing so only after the considering the issue for some hours.
Article 286/z/3 Shakshuka (Hebrew:שקשוקה)
Shakshuka: Israeli hangover remedy (not hangover product, despite appearance).
Added by RabbiTechno
A popular dish in Israel comprising of chopped tomatoes, paprika, tomato puree, oil, eggs and anything else you happen to find in the cupboard, shakshuka is widely rumoured to be a highly-effective cure for hangovers in much the same way that walnuts were once used to treat headaches due to their resemblance to the human brain and liverwort to treat liver conditions due to its visual similarity to that organ (a similarity noted only by those who have never seen a liver. The plant has leaves and is green, for a start. Human livers do not have leaves and are not green - not even George Best's) - an archaic branch of medicine known as "association" which states that any plant resembling a part of the human body will successfully treat any disorder of the body part it resembles.
Since hangovers, resulting from over-consumption of alcohol, affect not one but a multitude of body parts and there is no plant that bears any visual similarity to all of them, medieval Jewish doctors strove to come up with an effective remedy. Eventually, they hit upon the revolutionary idea of formulating an edible substance that, instead, resembled one of the most obvious symptoms and products of a hangover - vomit.
Type 4: Lethal substances banned for usage in 143 states and territories
Article 153/m56/p6 Kenidalach (Yiddish:קניידלעך)
The world's largest kenidalach, weighing 267lb (121kg), was created by a New York delicatessen in 2009. Scientists estimate that consuming it would cause constipation lasting for several million years, which has inspired pharmaceutical companies to begin experiments investigating matzah as a possible antidote to cholent.
Added by RabbiTechno
“Ah, kenidalach - to eat it or to avoid it? Often the subject of long internal debate, I find.”
~ Rabbi Topol, Hebron Institute for Intestinal Studies
Risk Classification: Serious and prolonged, in worst cases permanent
Short-Term Effects: Third-degree burns to mouth and face
Long-Term Effects: Extreme pain, chewed woodwork, dire shortage of available lavatories
Normally Consumed: Surprisingly often, considering the above
Food Group Classification: Reinforced cement cast in large and awkward shapes combined with thermosetting adhesive
While being "only" balls of Matzoh flour, military historians believe
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Israeli breaks Iranian's chess record
TEL AVIV - An Israeli grandmaster broke an Iranian's world record on Friday for simultaneous chess games, beating 454 out of 523 opponents in a packed city plaza.
Alik Gershon, 30, took the Guinness crown following almost 20 straight hours spent pacing between game tables lined across Tel Aviv's Yitzhak Rabin Square.
His 86 percent win rate outstripped former record-holder Morteza Mahjoob of Iran, who last year bested 397 out of 500 chess players taken on at once in Tehran.
"Hopefully all our wars will be on the chessboard," Gershon told Reuters, alluding to hostility between Israel and Iran.
Jack Brockbank, the on-site adjudicator for Guinness World Records, confirmed Gershon's record and predicted a new chess challenge from the Iranians.
Alik Gershon, 30, took the Guinness crown following almost 20 straight hours spent pacing between game tables lined across Tel Aviv's Yitzhak Rabin Square.
His 86 percent win rate outstripped former record-holder Morteza Mahjoob of Iran, who last year bested 397 out of 500 chess players taken on at once in Tehran.
"Hopefully all our wars will be on the chessboard," Gershon told Reuters, alluding to hostility between Israel and Iran.
Jack Brockbank, the on-site adjudicator for Guinness World Records, confirmed Gershon's record and predicted a new chess challenge from the Iranians.
Political pawns: Iran loses chess record to Israel
JERUSALEM: An Israeli broke the record for most simultaneous games of chess played by an individual on Friday, seizing the title from a chess master from his country’s archenemy, Iran.
Israeli chess champ Alik Gershon played 523 people, moving from board to board in a Tel Aviv plaza. He started Thursday and finished overnight, winning 454 of the matches, losing 11 and drawing in 58.
In London, Guinness World Records confirmed that the Israeli was the new world record holder.
The previous record was set last year by Iranian champ Morteza Mahjoob, who played 500 opponents at the same time in a Tehran arena.
The new record holder acknowledged the tensions between the countries. “Hopefully this is the only war we are going to have with this enemy, ever,” Gershon said.
He also noted the game’s ancient origins in Persia — now Iran.
“Taking the record from an Iranian in a game that was invented by Iran — it’s going to be even sweeter,” he said as his record attempt was getting under way Thursday.
Israel believes Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons despite its denials and sees that as an existential threat.
Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has questioned the veracity of the Holocaust and suggested Israel should be “wiped off the map.” This is not the only Guinness title to be drawn into Mideast politics.
Israel has a long-running competition with Lebanon over who can make the world’s biggest plate of hummus, which is seen as a national dish in both countries.
The record has changed hands several times. Lebanon is the current holder, after making a 10-metric-ton plate of the chickpea dip earlier this year.
Palestinians have also tried to set Guinness records, partly in an attempt to draw international attention to their conflict with Israel. Children in the Gaza Strip now hold records for the most people simultaneously flying kites and dribbling basketballs: 3,000 and 7,000, respectively.
Israeli chess master takes Guinness record from Iran
An Israeli chess grandmaster has broken the world record for simultaneous chess games, taking the title from Iran.
Alik Gershon, 30, took title after a 19-hour marathon match against 523 players whose row of tables snaked across a Tel Aviv square. He won 454, lost 11 and drew 58.
Alik Gershon started on Thursday and finished overnight His 86% win rate also outstripped the former record holder, grandmaster Morteza Mahjoob of Iran.
Mr Mahjoob last year bested 397 out of 500 chess players in Tehran.
Jack Brockbank, the on-site adjudicator for Guinness World Records, confirmed the new Israeli record and predicted a renewed chess challenge from Iran.
The new record holder acknowledged the strained relations between the two regional powers, but expressed a wish for peace.
"Hopefully all our wars will be on the chess board, or something cultural, and not real wars," Mr Gershon said.
But he did admit that breaking an Iranian record was a "big bonus" for Israel.
15,000 previously unknown civilian deaths contained in the Iraq War Logs released by WikiLeaks
22 October 2010
London: Early analysis by the independent NGO, Iraq Body Count (IBC), of the Iraq War Logs released by WikiLeaks suggests the logs contain 15,000 civilian deaths that have not been previously reported. Additionally, IBC calculates that over 150,000 violent deaths related to conflict have been recorded in Iraq since March 2003, with more than 122,000 (80%) of them civilian.
IBC’s expert analysis draws on a detailed comparison of the Logs to the information already contained in its public database detailing 107,000 Iraqi civilians already reported in the public domain.
IBC’s preliminary analysis of the Iraq War Logs concludes that:
- Most of the newly revealed deaths in the logs occurred in previously unreported violent incidents involving the deaths of one or two people. They include targeted assassinations, drive-by-shootings, torture, executions, and checkpoint killings. (http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/numbers/warlogs)
- 64,000 civilian deaths recorded in these Logs are already represented in the IBC database. These were mainly gathered from press and media reports, as well as some NGO and official figures.
- Even when the bare fact of a death is already known, the Logs frequently add important new detail including, for instance, the precise time and place of particular deaths which were only previously represented in numerical totals from morgues
- Most significantly of all, the Logs contain many thousands of previously unreleased names of civilian victims. IBC has already been able to add over one hundred such names brought into the public domain for the first time (http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/qa/warlogs/)
These analyses have only been possible because both IBC and the Iraq War Logs record data at the level of individual casualty and incident along with connected details (e.g. time, place, weapon, and victim demographics). This allows for detailed line-by-line matching of the two data sets. Earlier official releases allowed no such precise analysis, because they contained only numerical totals – bare numbers rather than human and factual details.
IBC has fully analysed all 360 of the Logs which report more than 20 people killed, and which account in total for over 17,000 deaths. It has also analysed random samples totalling 500 Logs reporting incidents in which 19 or fewer people died. It then carefully cross-checked this information against its own extensive data set, and now publishes its preliminary findings simultaneously with the public release of the Logs.
IBC plans to inspect all of the 390,000 Iraq War Logs for any casualty data they may contain, and then integrate them into the IBC database, a massive task that will take a dedicated team many months of effort. Merely sampling the Logs would not do justice to all the other deaths that are contained therein.
An IBC spokesperson commented: “It is totally unacceptable that for so many years the US Government has withheld from the public these essential details about civilian casualties in Iraq. There is a vital public interest and an inalienable public right to know who died in this war and how they died, whether Iraqi or any other nationality. Every recoverable detail about the human death toll in Iraq, and in all other conflicts around the world, must be brought to light. Only such detailed and specific knowledge makes the full human consequences of war impossible to deny.”
Three articles published today on the IBC web site describe and discuss what may be drawn from today’s WikiLeaks release:
What the Numbers Reveal: IBC’s early assessment of what the logs released by WikiLeaks add to the known Iraqi death toll.
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/numbers/warlogs/
The Truth is In the Detail: An analysis of the type of victim and incident details found in the logs, and why those details matter.
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/beyond/warlogs/
Iraq War Logs: Context: What makes the logs different and important, what IBC’s approach to them has been, and will be in future.
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/qa/warlogs/
-------
NOTE FOR EDITORS
Iraq Body Count (IBC) is a UK-based independent NGO dedicated to recording the violent civilian deaths that have resulted from the 2003 military intervention in Iraq. Its public database includes deaths caused by US-led coalition forces and paramilitary or criminal attacks by others. IBC’s documentary evidence is drawn from cross-checked media reports of violent events leading to the death of civilians, or of bodies being found, and is supplemented by the careful review and integration of hospital, morgue, NGO and official figures. IBC figures are widely quoted as an authoritative source of information by governments, inter-governmental agencies and the worldwide media. IBC has been co-ordinating the publication of its own careful preliminary analyses with WikiLeaks and those press and media organisations listed at http://www.iraqwarlogs.com
London: Early analysis by the independent NGO, Iraq Body Count (IBC), of the Iraq War Logs released by WikiLeaks suggests the logs contain 15,000 civilian deaths that have not been previously reported. Additionally, IBC calculates that over 150,000 violent deaths related to conflict have been recorded in Iraq since March 2003, with more than 122,000 (80%) of them civilian.
IBC’s expert analysis draws on a detailed comparison of the Logs to the information already contained in its public database detailing 107,000 Iraqi civilians already reported in the public domain.
IBC’s preliminary analysis of the Iraq War Logs concludes that:
- Most of the newly revealed deaths in the logs occurred in previously unreported violent incidents involving the deaths of one or two people. They include targeted assassinations, drive-by-shootings, torture, executions, and checkpoint killings. (http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/numbers/warlogs)
- 64,000 civilian deaths recorded in these Logs are already represented in the IBC database. These were mainly gathered from press and media reports, as well as some NGO and official figures.
- Even when the bare fact of a death is already known, the Logs frequently add important new detail including, for instance, the precise time and place of particular deaths which were only previously represented in numerical totals from morgues
- Most significantly of all, the Logs contain many thousands of previously unreleased names of civilian victims. IBC has already been able to add over one hundred such names brought into the public domain for the first time (http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/qa/warlogs/)
These analyses have only been possible because both IBC and the Iraq War Logs record data at the level of individual casualty and incident along with connected details (e.g. time, place, weapon, and victim demographics). This allows for detailed line-by-line matching of the two data sets. Earlier official releases allowed no such precise analysis, because they contained only numerical totals – bare numbers rather than human and factual details.
IBC has fully analysed all 360 of the Logs which report more than 20 people killed, and which account in total for over 17,000 deaths. It has also analysed random samples totalling 500 Logs reporting incidents in which 19 or fewer people died. It then carefully cross-checked this information against its own extensive data set, and now publishes its preliminary findings simultaneously with the public release of the Logs.
IBC plans to inspect all of the 390,000 Iraq War Logs for any casualty data they may contain, and then integrate them into the IBC database, a massive task that will take a dedicated team many months of effort. Merely sampling the Logs would not do justice to all the other deaths that are contained therein.
An IBC spokesperson commented: “It is totally unacceptable that for so many years the US Government has withheld from the public these essential details about civilian casualties in Iraq. There is a vital public interest and an inalienable public right to know who died in this war and how they died, whether Iraqi or any other nationality. Every recoverable detail about the human death toll in Iraq, and in all other conflicts around the world, must be brought to light. Only such detailed and specific knowledge makes the full human consequences of war impossible to deny.”
Three articles published today on the IBC web site describe and discuss what may be drawn from today’s WikiLeaks release:
What the Numbers Reveal: IBC’s early assessment of what the logs released by WikiLeaks add to the known Iraqi death toll.
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/numbers/warlogs/
The Truth is In the Detail: An analysis of the type of victim and incident details found in the logs, and why those details matter.
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/beyond/warlogs/
Iraq War Logs: Context: What makes the logs different and important, what IBC’s approach to them has been, and will be in future.
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/qa/warlogs/
-------
NOTE FOR EDITORS
Iraq Body Count (IBC) is a UK-based independent NGO dedicated to recording the violent civilian deaths that have resulted from the 2003 military intervention in Iraq. Its public database includes deaths caused by US-led coalition forces and paramilitary or criminal attacks by others. IBC’s documentary evidence is drawn from cross-checked media reports of violent events leading to the death of civilians, or of bodies being found, and is supplemented by the careful review and integration of hospital, morgue, NGO and official figures. IBC figures are widely quoted as an authoritative source of information by governments, inter-governmental agencies and the worldwide media. IBC has been co-ordinating the publication of its own careful preliminary analyses with WikiLeaks and those press and media organisations listed at http://www.iraqwarlogs.com
Lebanon cheers Ahmadinejad's visit 14 OCTOBER 2010, WORLD
Lebanon cheers Ahmadinejad's visit 14 OCTOBER 2010, WORLD
Thursday, October 21, 2010
سبزهای گمنام / دیدار زهرا رهنورد با مهرداد اصلانی، از
زهرا رهنورد، نویسنده و استاد دانشگاه تهران به دیدار مهرداد اصلانی از زندانیان گمنام حوادث پس از انتخابات رفت .در این دیدار جمعی از زنان اصلاح طلب نیز رهنورد را همراهی می کردند .
به گزارش کلمه، مهرداد اصلانی یکی از شهروندان معترض به نتیجه انتخابات ریاست جمهوری است که مدتی پیش از زندان اوین آزاد شده است . وی ۳۱ خرداد ماه ۸۸ به دلیل شرکت در تجمع های اعتراضی پس از انتخابات بازداشت و پس از تحمل یازده ماه حبس از زندان آزاد شد .
زهرا رهنورد در این دیداربا اشاره به مقاومت زندانیانی که در جریان حوادث پس از انتخابات به خصوص تجمعهای اعتراضی دستگیر شده اند، گفت :صبر و مقاومت این زندانیان مثال زدنی است و مهرداد اصلانی نیز یکی از همین زندانیان است که توانسته روزهای سخت و شرایط بد زندان را به خوبی تحمل کند هر چند این صبر و استقامت مختص او نبوده و خانواده اش نیز در طول دوران بازداشت مهرداد همواره صبر و استقامت به خرج داده اند .
در ادامه، این استاد دانشگاه با ابراز خوشحالی از آزادی مهرداد اصلانی ، تاکید کرد: این روزها و شرایط سخت گذراست و سرانجام روزی خواهد رسید که جنبش آزادی خواهی مردم به پیروزی می رسد و دیگر شاهد ظلم بر مردم و جوانان این سرزمین نخواهیم بود . این امر جز با پایداری ، صبر و استقامت نیز به دست نخواهد آمد .
وی همچنین با انتقاد از برخوردهای غیرانسانی و غیرقانونی با زندانیان سیاسی و خانوادههایشان در ماههای اخیر گفت : من امیدوارم که هر چه زودتر این رفتارهای غیر انسانی با زندانیان و خانواده هایشان پایان یابد و هرچه زودتر شاهد آزادی همه اسرای در بند جنبش سبز باشیم
میلیون هم بیشتر شده، البته نمیخواهیم قدرت رأیمان را به رخ
به گزارش ایسنا، مرتضی تمدن در سیزدهمین جشنوارهی شهید رجایی، گفت: هماکنون محبوبیت آقای احمدینژاد نسبت به ۲۵ میلیون رایی که آورده قطعا افزایش پیدا کرده است. البته قرار نیست ما قدرت رایمان را به رخ بکشیم. ما نوکریمان را به رخ خواهیم کشید. ما برای تکریم مردم آمدهایم. شاید نتوانیم همهی وظایف خود را انجام دهیم، اما آن کرامتی را که برای انسان و جایگاه و شخصیتی که برای افراد قائل میشویم حرف اول را میزند.
ادعای استاندار تهران در خصوص افزایش رای احمدی نژاد در حالی مطرح میشود که بسیاری از طیفهای اصولگرا در یک سال اخیر به صراحت از ریزش آرای احمدی نژاد سخن گفتهاند؛ تا جایی که قاسمی از سخنرانان جلسات انصار حزب الله در همین هفته هشدار داده بود که جریان مدعی حزبالله هنوز نباید از احمدی نژاد عبور کند!
مرتضی تمدن در ادامه سخنانش همچنین با اشاره به سفر احمدی نژاد به اردبیل نیز با منت گذاشتن بر سر مردم و “نعمت” توصیف کردن احمدی نژاد، مدعی شد: شما دیدید که مردم قهرمان این استان سر از پا نمیشناختند و البته باید گفت این نوع تکریمها تکریم یک فرد نیست، بلکه تکریم انقلاب، نظام و حرکت پویا و بزرگی قلمداد میشود که همهی شما در آن سهیم و شریک بودید. حال باید دعا کنیم که خداوند ما را قدردان چنین نعمتی قرار دهد و ما با کار و تلاش و خدمت به مردم از چنین رسالت بزرگی پاسداری و نگهداری کنیم.
وی در بخش دیگری از سخنانش، به بیان خاطرهای از نوع رفتار احمدی نژاد در مقابل برخوردی خاص پرداخت و سپس گفت: بارها من دیدهام که رییسجمهور در رفت و آمدها وقتی میبیند که کسی نامهای را در دست گرفته، دستور توقف میدهد و تا آن نامه را نگیرد و در جیب خود نگذارد اجازهی حرکت نمیدهد. حال باید پرسید آیا رییسجمهور میخواهد بازارگرمی کند؟ این در حالی است که هماکنون محبوبیت آقای احمدینژاد نسبت به ۲۵ میلیون رایی که آورده قطعا افزایش پیدا کرده است.
استاندار تهران اضافه کرد: البته قرار نیست ما قدرت رایمان را به رخ بکشیم. ما نوکریمان را به رخ خواهیم کشید. ما برای تکریم مردم آمدهایم. شاید نتوانیم همهی وظایف خود را انجام دهیم، اما آن کرامتی را که برای انسان و جایگاه و شخصیتی که برای افراد قائل میشویم حرف اول را میزند.
تمدن همچنین با اشاره به سفر احمدینژاد به لبنان، گفت: ببینید هنگامی که آقای احمدینژاد در لبنان میخواستند، سخنرانی کنند و در آن سخنرانی برایشان تریبون شیشهای ضدگلوله مهیا شده بود، ایشان آن تریبون را به مترجم خود سپردند و خودشان به جای مترجم بدون حفاظت رفتند. این به چه معناست؟ آقای احمدینژاد نمیخواستند تمهیدات حفاظتی را زیر سوال ببرند. ببینید اینکه رییسجمهور در داخل محفظهی شیشهای سخنرانی کند و برگردد که هنر نیست. این عملکرد ایشان کرامت بخشیدن به مردمی بود که ساعتها آنجا ایستاده بودند.
وی در ادامه باز هم با تمجید و تملق نسبت به رئیس دولت، گفت: اگر زندگی آقای احمدینژاد را تجزیه و تحلیل کنید، خواهید دید که او به اندازهی سر سوزنی از مواهب این مسوولیت برای خودش چیزی اندوخته نکرده است.
استاندار تهران ادامه داد: آقای احمدینژاد پس از بازگشت از سفر لبنان بلافاصله کار و خدمت به مردم را شروع کرد، البته ایشان آنقدر ما را به چنین ریاضتی توصیه نمیکنند، ولی ما نمیتوانیم در این فضا شاهد بیانگیزگی باشیم.
انشگاه تهران یکسره سبز شد
با همت انجمنهای اسلامی دانشجویان در نزدیک به ۲۰ دانشکده، دانشگاه تهران سراسر سبز شد و بستههای فرهنگی آگاهیبخش به طور گسترده در اختیار دانشجویان جدیدالورود قرار گرفت.
به گزارش خبرنگار کلمه، روز سه شنبه ۲۷ مهرماه، انجمن اسلامی دانشجویان دانشگاه تهران و علم پزشکی تهران در اقدامی ابتکاری، به صورت هماهنگ و غیرمتمرکز، اقدام به برگزاری برنامهای با عنوان «گپ و گفت دانشجویی» کرد.
[عکس بالا، مربوط به مراسم روز سبز درختکاری در اسفندماه سال گذشته در دانشکده علوم اجتماعی دانشگاه تهران است.]
در این برنامه که به طور همزمان در نزدیک به ۲۰ دانشکده دانشگاه تهران برگزار شد، بستههایی شامل نمادهای سبز، کتاب «نامهای به فردا»ی سیدمحمد خاتمی، کتابهای دکتر علی شریعتی، وصیتنامه امام خمینی (ره) و عکسهایی از خاتمی، میرحسین موسوی، مهندس بازرگان، دکتر شریعتی، شهید همت، شهید باکری و … در اختیار دانشجویان ورودی جدید قرار گرفت.
گزارش خبرنگار کلمه همچنین حاکی است در این برنامه، اعضای انجمن اسلامی و دیگر دانشجویان با دانشجویان ورودی سال تحصیلی ۱۳۸۹ درباره وضعیت دانشگاه، شرایط سیاسی کشور و چشمانداز جنبش سبز، ماجرای حمله به کوی دانشگاه تهران و امکانهای جدید برای فعالیت مدنی و حقطلبانه در دانشگاه، به بحث و گفتوگو پرداختند.
دانشجویان حاضر در این گردهمایی غیررسمی اما پرشور، فضای بحث و گفتوگوی دانشجویان را بسیار شبیه دوره قبل از انتخابات دهم ریاستجمهوری و شور و نشاط دانشگاه در آن روزها توصیف کردهاند.
دانشجویان همچنین میگویند مخالفان برگزاری این برنامه نیز به دلیل شکل ابتکاری و خلاقانه این حرکت دانشجویی که به صورت ناگهانی و همزمان در چندین دانشکده انجام شد، فرصتی برای مخالفت یا جلوگیری از آن نیافتند.
کراچی:’حساس علاقوں کی نشاندہی ہوگئی
پاکستان کے صوبہ سندھ کے وزیرِ داخلہ ذوالفقار مرزا کا کہنا ہے کہ کراچی میں جرائم پیشہ افراد کے خلاف کارروائی کے لیے حساس علاقوں کی فہرست تیار کر لی گئی ہے۔
ادھر کراچی میں جمعرات کی شام پیپلز پارٹی، ایم کیو ایم اور اے این پی کا مشترکہ اجلاس منعقد ہو رہا ہے جس میں شہر کی صورتحال زیرِ بحث آئے گی۔
جمعرات کو مقامی ذرائع ابلاغ سے بات کرتے ہوئے ذوالفقار مرزا کا کہنا تھا کہ ’ہم نے ایسے علاقوں کی نشاندہی کر لی ہے جہاں جرائم پیشہ افراد اور اسلحہ کا ذخیرہ ہو سکتا ہے‘۔ ان کا کہنا تھا کہ آپریشن کے لیے شہر کے حساس علاقوں کی فہرست تیار کر لی گئی ہے۔
ہم نے ایسے علاقوں کی نشاندہی کر لی ہے جہاں جرائم پیشہ افراد اور اسلحہ کا ذخیرہ ہو سکتا ہے
ذوالفقار مرزا
انہوں نے کہا کہ ’خود کو مار کر مصلحت سے کام نہیں لیا جا سکتا‘۔
وزیرِ داخلہ نے بتایا کہ صدر آصف زرداری کی ہدایت پرگورنر ہاؤس میں متحدہ قومی موومنٹ، پیپلز پارٹی اور عوامی نیشنل پارٹی کا مشترکہ اجلاس جمعرات کی شام منعقد ہوگا اور ’عوام بہتر خبر سنیں گے‘۔
خیال رہے کہ کراچی میں سولہ اکتوبر کو ضمنی انتخاب کے موقع پر شروع ہونے والے پرتشدد واقعات میں اب تک ساٹھ سے زائد افراد مارے جا چکے ہیں۔
ان پرتشدد واقعات کے بعد کراچی میں فوج کی تعیناتی کا مطالبہ بھی سامنے آیا تھا جسے وزیراعظم نے یہ کہتے ہوئے رد کر دیا تھا کہ کراچی میں صوبائی حکومت حالات پر قابو پا لے گی۔
کراچی میں سولہ اکتوبر کو ضمنی انتخاب کے موقع پر شروع ہونے والے پرتشدد واقعات میں اب تک ساٹھ سے زائد افراد مارے جا چکے ہیں۔بدھ کی رات کراچی میں صوبائی سیکرٹری داخلہ عارف احمد خان کی صدارت میں امن امان کی بحال کے لیے ایک اجلاس منعقد ہوا تھا جس میں حکومت کو تجویز دی گئی تھی کہ مخصوص علاقوں میں جرائم پیشہ افراد کے خلاف کارروائی کی جائے۔
اسی اجلاس میں ڈی آئی جیز کو ایسے علاقوں کی نشاندھی کرنے کی ہدایت کی گئی تھی۔
اجلاس کے بعد عارف احمد خان نے میڈیا سے بات کرتے ہوئے بتایا تھا کہ اگر ان علاقوں میں ضرورت پڑنے پر کرفیو بھی نافذ کیا جا سکتا ہے کیونکہ وہاں غیر قانونی اسلحہ اور جرائم پیشہ افراد موجود ہیں۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ اس کارروائی کے لیے پولیس اور رینجرز اہلکار کافی ہوں گے۔
ادھر لیاری میں ممکنہ آپریشن کی اطلاع پر مردوں اور خواتین کی ایک بڑی تعداد نے جمعرات کی رات احتجاج کیا۔ ان مظاہرین نے ہاتھوں میں پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے جھنڈے اٹھا رکھے تھے۔
ٹارگٹ کلنگز کا خاتمہ کرنا ہے تو یکساں پالیسی اپنانا ہوگی:پیپلز امن کمیٹی
لیاری کی پیپلز امن کمیٹی کے ترجمان ظفر بلوچ نے بی بی سی کو بتایا کہ لوگوں نے جب یہ سنا کہ صرف لیاری میں آپریشن کی باتیں ہو رہی ہیں تو انہوں نے احتجاج کیا۔
ان کا کہنا تھا کہ ’گزشتہ بہتّر گھنٹوں میں لیاری کو شہر کے دعویٰ داروں کی جانب سے انیس لاشوں کا تحفہ ملا ہے، جس کے بعد شام کو میڈیا میں یہ خبریں آنے لگیں کہ لیاری میں سرچ آپریشن اور کرفیو نافذ کیا جا رہا ہے تو پھر لوگ مشتعل ہوکر باہر نکلے ان کا یہ مطالبہ ہے کہ اگر اس شہر کو بچانا ہے اور اسلحے سے پاک کرنا ہے اور ٹارگٹ کلنگز کا خاتمہ کرنا ہے تو ایک یکساں پالیسی اپنانا پڑے گی‘۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ اگر ایسا کیا گیا تو لیاری کے لوگ اپنے گھروں کی تلاشی کرانے میں پہل کریں گے۔
خیال رہے کہ متحدہ قومی موومنٹ کی جانب سے پیپلز امن کمیٹی پر تشدد کے واقعات میں ملوث ہونے کے الزامات عائد کیے گئے ہیں تاہم کمیٹی کے ارکان ان الزامات کو مسترد کرتے ہیں۔
بوسنیا: انجلینا کو فلمبندی کی اجازت
انجلینا جولی کو بطور ہدایت کارہ بوسنیا میں فلمبندی کی اجازت پھر سے مل گئی ہے۔
گزشتہ ہفتے حکومت کے اس بیان کے بعد کہ انہیں درخواست کے ساتھ سکرین پلے نہیں ملا ہے فلم کی شوٹنگ کی اجازت منسوخ کر دی گئی تھی۔
پروڈیوسر ایڈن سارکک نے خبر رساں ادارے رائٹرز کو بتایا ہے کہ بوسنیا کے ثقافتی وزیر کو سکرپٹ دیا گیا تھا تاکہ وہ فلم کے مواد کے متنازعہ ہونے کے متعلق افواہوں کا ازالہ کر سکیں۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ انجلینا اور ان کے عملے کے لوگ آئندہ ماہ سرائیوو میں اپنی فلم کی شوٹنگ شروع کر دیں گے۔ ’میں اب شوٹنگ کے لیے تیاری شروع کر سکتا ہوں جو مجھے گزشتہ ہفتے روکنی پڑی تھی‘۔
میں اب شوٹنگ کے لیے تیاری شروع کر سکتا ہوں جو مجھے گزشتہ ہفتے روکنی پڑی تھی۔ یہ بوسنیا کے لیے ایک بڑی چیز ہے کہ اتنی عظیم فنکار سرائیو آرہی ہیں۔
پروڈیوسر ایڈن سارکک
سارکک نے کہا ’یہ بوسنیا کے لیے ایک بڑی چیز ہے کہ اتنی عظیم فنکارہ سرائیوو آ رہی ہیں‘۔
جنگ سے متاثرہ خواتین کی تنظیم ’دی ایسوسی ایشن آف وومن‘ نے ان افواہوں کے بعد فلم پر اعتراض کیا تھا کہ فلم میں ایک جنسی زیادتی کی شکار مسلم خاتون کو اپنے سرب معاون کی محبت میں گرفتار ہوتے دکھایا جائیگا۔
اس تنظیم کی سربراہ باکرہ ہیسسک نے بتایا کہ اگست میں جب انہوں نے اس فلم کے متعلق سنا تھا تبھی سے وہ انجلینا جولی سے ملنے کے لیے کوشش کرتی رہی ہیں۔
ان کا کہنا تھا ’بالآخر اب ہمیں ان سے ملنے کی امید ہے اور ہمیں امید ہے کہ وہ ہمیں اس بات پر قائل کریں گی کہ جس بات پر ہمیں شکوک تھے اور جو ہم سنتے آئے ہیں وہ درست نہیں ہیں‘۔
گزشتہ ہفتے محترمہ جولی نے ایک تحریری بیان کہا تھا کہ یہ بڑی شرم کی بات ہوگی کہ غلط اطلاع کی بنیاد پر انہیں اور ان کے عملے پر فلم کی شوٹنگ نہ کرنے کے لیے دباؤ ڈالا جائے۔ ان کا کہنا تھا ’میری امید یہ ہے جب تک لوگ فلم دیکھ نہیں لیں گے تب تک اس پر اپنی رائے زنی سے باز رہیں گے‘
سیکس ڈاٹ کام ایک بار پھر نیلام
انٹرنیٹ ڈومین سیکس ڈاٹ کام تیرہ ملین ڈالرز میں نیلام کر دیا گیا ہے۔
اس ڈومین کو رواں سال جولائی میں اس وقت نیلامی کے لیے پیش کیا گیا تھا جب اس کے سابقہ مالک کمپنی ایسکام دیوالیہ ہوگئی تھی۔
کریبین کے جزیرے سینٹ ونسنٹ میں رجسٹرڈ ایک غیر معروف کمپنی کلوور ہولڈنگز نے اس ڈومین کو خریدا ہے۔ ایک اندازے کے مطابق اس نیلامی میں بارہ کمپنیوں نے حصہ لیا۔
سیکس ڈاٹ کام کو اب تک کئی بار فروخت کیا جا چکا ہے۔
اس ڈومین کے پہلے مالک میچ ڈاٹ کام کے بانی گیری کریمن تھے جنہوں نے اسے دو ہزار چھ میں فروخت کیا۔ گیری کریمن نے یہ ڈومین انیس سو چورانوے میں رجسٹر کرائی تھی۔ دو ہزار چھ میں ایک شخص سٹیفن کوہن نے جعلسازی سے اس ڈومین پر قبضہ کر لیا اور گیری کریمن کو اپنے مالکانہ حقوق ثابت کرنے کے لیے ایک لمبی قانونی جنگ لڑنی پڑی۔
مسٹر کوہن کو اس جعل سازی کے نتیجے میں پینسٹھ ملین ڈالر کا جرمانہ اور سزا بھی ہوئی تھی۔
ایک اندازے کے مطابق ایسکام نے دو ہزار چھ میں اس ڈومین کو چودہ ملین ڈالرز میں خریدا تھا۔ دنیا میں سب سے مہنگی بکنے والی انٹرنیٹ ڈومین انشور ڈاٹ کام ہے جسے انیس سو ننانوے میں ایک کمپنی کوِن سٹریٹ نے خریدا تھا۔
ایسکام کے دیوالیہ ہونے کا معاملہ اس وقت عدالت میں ہے اور عدالت سے منظوری کے بعد ہی اس فروخت کو حتمی مانا جائے گا۔ عدالت ستائیس اکتوبر کو اپنا فیصلہ سنائے گی۔
سعودی شہزادے کو عمر قید کی سزا
برطانوی عدالت نے شاہ عبداللہ کے اس نواسے کو عمر قید کی سزا سنا دی ہے جن پر لندن کے ایک ہوٹل میں اپنے ذاتی ملازم کو قتل کرنے کا الزام ثابت ہوگیا تھا ۔
شہزادہ سعود عبدالعزیز بن نصر السعود کو کم از کم بیس برس قید کی سزا دی گئی ہے۔
جج مسٹر جسٹس بین نے اپنا فیصلہ سناتے ہوئے مجرم شہزادے سے کہا ’تم اپنے ملازم پر مکمل اختیار اور اعتماد کی علامت تھے، تاہم تم نے اپنے اختیار کو بہیمانہ طور پر استعمال کرتے ہوئے اپنے ملازم کے اعتماد کو پاش پاش کردیا ، میں سمجھتا ہوں کہ تمہیں اس کی پرواہ ہی تھی کہ تمارے عمل سے تمارا ملازم کو نقصان پہنچ سکتا ہے اور وہ مر بھی سکتا ہے‘۔
جسٹس بین نے کہا کہ سزا کا تعین حیثیت سے نہیں ہوتا۔’میں سزا نرم یا نہ سخت اس وجہ سے نہیں کرونگا کہ تمہارا تعلق سعودی شاہی خاندان سے ہے بلکہ یہ جرم کے مطابق ہوگی تاہم یہ ایک غیر معمولی صورتحال ہے کہ میرے سامنے جو مجرم کھڑا ہے وہ شہزادہ ہے‘۔
’ سزا کا تعین حثیت سے نہیں ہوتا، میں سزا نرم یا نہ سخت اس وجہ سے نہیں کرونگا کہ تمہارا تعلق سعودی شاہی خاندان سے ہے بلکہ یہ جرم کے مطابق ہوگی تاہم یہ ایک غیر معمولی صورتحال ہے کہ میرے سامنے جو مجرم کھڑا ہے وہ شہزادہ ہے‘
جسٹس بین
سعودی شہزادے کو ابتدا میں یہ گمان تھا کہ شاہی خاندان کا فرد ہونے کے باعث وہ سزا سے بچ جائیں گے۔
چونتیس سالہ شہزادے نے ملازم کو ہلاک کرنے کا اعتراف کیا مگر عمداً قتل کرنے سے انکار کیا۔ واضح رہے کہ شہزادے نے جس وقت اپنے ذاتی ملازم کے قتل کا ارتکاب کیا وہ نشے میں دھت تھے۔ یہ قتل پندرہ فروری کو ہوا تھا۔
برطانوی پولیس نے عدالت کو بتایا کہ ایسے شواہد ملے ہیں کہ شہزادے کے اپنے ملازم کے ساتھ جنسی روابط تھے اور وہ دونوں ایک ہی کمرے میں ٹھہرتے تھے۔ پولیس نے ایک ایسی ویڈیو بھی عدالت میں پیش کی تھی جس میں شہزادہ سعود عبد العزیز اپنے ملازم کو ہوٹل کی لفٹ میں پیٹتے ہوئے نظر آتے ہیں۔
پولیس کے مطابق بندر بن عبد العزیز کی لاش ہوٹل کے کمرے سے برآمد کی گئی اور ان کے جسم خصوصاً ان کےگالوں، ہونٹوں، کانوں اور بائیں آنکھ کے نیچے کاٹنے کے نشانات ہیں اور پولیس کا خیال ہے کہ اس قتل کے جنسی محرکات ہیں۔
برطانوی پولیس نے بندر عبد العزیز کی لاش کو لندن کے ایک ہوٹل کے کمرے سے برآمد کیا تھا
سعودی شہزادے کے وکیل نے عدالت سے درخواست کی تھی کہ ان کے مؤکل پر ہم جنس پرستی سے متعلق الزامات کو خفیہ رکھنے کا حکم دے کیونکہ اسلامی قانون کے مطابق ہم جنس پرستی کی سزا موت ہے۔
جیوری صرف ڈیڑھ گھنٹے کی سماعت کے بعد اس نتیجے پر پہنچ گئی کہ شہزادے سعود عبد العزیز نے اپنے ملازم کو قتل کیا تھا۔ برطانوی پولیس افسر جان میکفرلین نے جیوری کے فیصلے کے بعد کہا’ کہ برطانیہ میں کوئی شخص خواہ وہ کتنا ہی باحیثیت کیوں نہ ہوں قانون سے بالا نہیں ہے‘۔
سعودی شہزادے نے برطانوی پولیس کو بتایا کہ ان کے والد سعودی بادشاہ عبداللہ کے بھیتیجے ہیں جبکہ ان کی ماں شاہ عبد اللہ کی بیٹی ہیں۔
چیچنیا کے حالات قابو میں نہیں
گزشتہ تقریباً ایک سال سے ماسکو شورش زدہ چیچنیا کو مستحکم اور ترقی پذیر صوبے کے طور پر پیش کر رہا تھا۔ لیکن منگل کو ہونے والے حملے نے ثابت کر دیا ہے کہ پرامن حالات کوئی زیادہ یقینی نہیں ہیں۔
بی بی سی کی نامہ نگار شاشہ شلیچٹر چیچنیا کی صورتِ حال کا تجزیہ کرتے ہوئے کہتی ہیں کہ چیچنیا دو صدیوں سے روس کے تاج میں ایک کانٹا رہا ہے۔
کئی زار اور روسی حکمران اس جنوبی پہاڑی خطے کو قابو کرنے کی کوشش کرتے رہے لیکن انہیں کامیابی نہیں ملی۔
چچن عوام کے ذہنوں میں دوسری جنگ عظیم کے بعد روسی آمر سٹالن کی جانب سے جرمن نازیوں کی مدد کے الزام میں چیچن لوگوں کو بڑی تعداد میں سائبیرا اور وسطی ایشیا بھیجنے کا واقع تازہ ہے۔
موجودہ بدامنی نوے کی دہائی کے اوائل میں سوویت یونین کے انہدام یا زوال کے بعد شروع ہوئی۔
چیچنیا کے اعلان آزادی نے بعد باغیوں اور ملیشیا گروہوں کے درمیان تیل اور دیگر وسائل پر قبضے کی جنگ کی شکل اختیار کر لی۔
اغوا ایک بڑا کاروبار بن گیا۔ انیس سو چورانوے میں صدر یلسن نے باغیوں کو کچلنے کے لیے روسی فوجی روانہ کیے لیکن چیچن مزاحمت نے صدر یلسن کے جلد کامیابی کی وعدہ پورے نہیں ہونے دیے۔
دارالحکومت گروزنی کی ایک تباہ حال عمارت
نئی صدی کے آغاز پر صدر پیوٹن نے دوبارہ فوج کشی کی۔ اس مرتبہ کی جانے والی کارروائی تیز اور ظالمانہ تھی اس کارروائی میں دارالحکومت گروزنی پر قبضہ تو ہو گیا لیکن اس کے بعد ایک اور خونی جنگ کا آغاز ہوگیا ہے۔
مغربی ممالک نے اس پر احتجاج کیا لیکن احتـجاج کا یہ سلسلہ گیارہ ستمبر دو ہزار ایک کے امریکی حلموں کے بعد بند ہو چکا ہے۔
اس کے بعد روس نے چیچن باغیوں کو عالمی دہشت گرد گروہ کے طور پر پیش کرنا شروع کر دیا اور خود چیچنز نے بھی اس الزام کو غلط ثابت کرنے کی کوئی کوشش نہیں کی۔
کریملن نے گزشتہ برس چیچن علیحدگی پسندوں کے خلاف ایک دہائی پر محیط فوجی کارروائی کو کامیاب قرار دیتے ہوئے اس کے خاتمے کا اعلان کیا تھا۔
چیچنیا ماسکو نواز صدر رمضان قاروف کے زیر انتطام پرامن ہے لیکن وقتاً فوقتاً ہونے والے پرتشدد واقعات یاد دلاتے ہیں کہ حالات مکمل طور پر قابو میں نہیں آئے ہیں۔
News : UK Border Agency denied Hyrbyair Marri’s preliminary application for asylum in the UK
LONDON: A well-known Baloch leader has cried foul after the Home Office rejected his political asylum application.
Baloch leader Hyrbyair Marri, one of six sons of veteran Baloch leader Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, had reluctantly applied for political asylum in Britain for himself and his wife and 5 children a month ago, 10 years after landing in Britain and living on a work permit visa.
Hyrbyair, who was at one stage accused of directing the insurgency in restive Balochistan from his London home, decided to apply for asylum after failing to get his passport back from the government despite trying all legal attempts. Hyrbyair and his family’s passports were seized by the anti-terrorism command unit in a dawn raid on the Baloch leader’s home in Ealing on December 4, 2007.
It is believed that Pervez Musharraf, then a key western ally in the ‘war on terror’ had personally asked for the extradition to Pakistan of Hyrbyair Marri, Mehran Baloch, Hyrbyair Marri’s younger brother and Baloch representative in the UN council for human rights, and Faiz Baloch, a 28 years old London based Baloch campaigner and Hyrbyair’s key ally who was arrested and released along with Hyrbyair Marri, in exchange of British Pakistani terror suspect Rashid Rauf, believed to have been killed recently in the tribal areas.
Both Hyrbyair and Faiz, who spent eight months in notorious Belmarsh jail, were acquitted by an ordinary jury due to lack of evidence against them. But despite being acquitted and PPP-led Pakistani government’s assurance to the British government that it was not interested in pursing the charges against Mr. Marri, the British authorities are still hounding him and harassing him in a number of ways. The PPP-led government has recently changed tone. A few weeks ago, Rehman Malik in a speech on the Senate floor specifically singled out Brahamdagh Bugti and Hyrbyair Marri for heading the operations of Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
In May this year, a new case 29/2010 was brought against Hyrbyair Marri and his ageing father in Maach Town by the Frontier Constabulary in which both Baloch leaders have been accused of inciting insurgency.
Hyrbyair Marri insists that he has never been involved in armed struggle and would only advocate peaceful means of struggle. They are refusing to return his and his family’s passports and not giving any justification for doing so.
Hyrbyair tells The News that he was so frustrated and humiliated by the attitude of the authorities that he decided to apply for asylum citing fears for his life by the Pakistani security agencies and the killing of his elder brother Balach Marri in a suspected missile attack.
Unlike many other politicians, Hyrbyair has made it a point not to receive the state benefits and has paid for his family’s living costs, education, housing and medical but has never claimed anything in benefits but the Home Office rejection letters has addressed him as an “economic migrant” looking for better opportunities in Britain.
Human rights campaigners believed that Hyrbyair had a good chance of being granted the refugee status straight away as hundreds of Balochs, who have claimed harassment and persecution at the hands of security services have been granted refuge in Britain and many other European countries.
Mir Suleman Dawood, the current Khan of Kalat, in Britain and advocate Kachkol Ali Baloch in Norway were recently granted the refugee status on more or less the same ground of fear of torture by the security forces.
Hyrbyair remains highly critical of the role of Britain and suspects that it’s security services still believe the “wrong information” provided to them by their Pakistani counterparts and continuing to chase him at various levels.
Speaking to The News he said that he would love to spend his life amongst his own people back in Balochiistan but that was made almos impossible by the on-going military operation in Balochistan.
“Our people are being cut down by the security forces like vegetables. My brother Balach was killed by the ISI in a missile attack and we are being hounded even in countries abroad. During an address to a rally of British Pakistanis in Manchester on 9th of September, Pervez Musharraf, without naming Hyrbyair Marri, made a reference to his presence in Britain and called him “anti-Pakistan”.
Musharraf, who is disliked by Balochs for launching military operation in the province for ordering the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti, was talking about “crushing the anti-Pakistan elements” with brutal force, especially the likes of Brahamdagh Bugti and all others who have adopted the path of armed struggle for the acceptance of their demands. The News asked a close Musharraf advisor after Musharraf finished his Manchester speech that who did the former president mean by the “anti-Pakistan” residing in Britain, thee Musharraf loyalist said that the former general meant Hyrbyair Marri.
Renowned human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell in a statement condemned the Home Office for refusing the asylum application of Hyrbyair Marri. “The Home Office is clearly out of touch if it believes that Hyrbyair Marri can live a safe life in Pakistan.”
http://www.thenews.com.pk/20-10-2010/Top-Story/1440.htm
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